Summary
Date:15/04/2020
The RACGP has provided a submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability issues paper on healthcare for people with cognitive disability.
The RACGP’s submission makes a number of recommendations based on member feedback on access to healthcare for people with cognitive disability, and the reasons why this demographic may experience violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation. These include:
- removing the financial barriers people with cognitive disability face when they attempt to access care
- providing education to disability workers, carers, health professionals and people with cognitive disability themselves
- providing funding for advocacy services
- fostering greater collaboration between the health and disability sectors to enable multidisciplinary care
- increasing the role of GPs in National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) planning
- establishing clear pathways to report instances of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation.
The RACGP wishes to acknowledge and thank Adj Assoc Prof Bob Davis, Chair of the Disability Specific Interests Network, for his significant contribution to this submission.