GHA launches new office to advocate for individuals with supported needs and disabilities

The GHA has established a Supported Needs and Disability Office, led by an administrative manager, to advocate for individuals with supported needs and disabilities, enhance representation in healthcare, and inform government policy as part of the National Disability Strategy.

The Minister for Health and Care, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, has announced the creation of a new office, the Supported Needs and Disability Office, at the GHA dedicated to advocating for and liaising with individuals with supported needs and disabilities.

This initiative, developed as part of the Government’s National Disability Strategy and driven by the Supported Needs and Disability Office, is important to ensuring that the needs of vulnerable individuals are represented and addressed across the GHA, said a statement from Government.

A Supported Needs and Disability administrative manager will lead the office and will act as an advocate for persons with supported needs and disabilities within the GHA, attending multiagency panels, schools, respite centres and liaising with charities to represent the GHA in discussions, “ensuring that the needs of the community are consistently voiced”.

Additionally, the role includes reporting back to the Government’s centralised Supported Needs and Disability Office, supplying key data and insights to inform central Government policy on health and disability.

This manager will be based at St Bernard’s Hospital and can be contacted at ghasndo@gha.gi for any inquiries or support regarding GHA disability services.

"By creating this office, we are ensuring that individuals with supported needs and disabilities are no longer on the margins but are central to our decision making at the GHA. It is important that we listen to and act upon the concerns of these individuals, so we can adapt and improve the way we provide care,” said the GHA Director General, Kevin McGee.

“This new office will allow us to do just that.”

For her part Ms Arias-Vasquez, said she was very keen to set up a dedicated liaison point at the hospital to ensure that all matters concerning supported needs and disability are dealt with comprehensively.

“This has come about through the implementation of our National Disability Strategy and will, in my view, be essential in ensuring that the GHA can better deal with the needs of individuals with supported needs and disabilities,” she said.