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Physical Disability Australia to host "Fair and Accessible Healthcare" webinar on 5th August

Physical Disability Australia (PDA)

On Tuesday 5th August at 6pm AEST, Physical Disability Australia (PDA) will be hosting an important webinar around “fair and accessible healthcare”.

People with disability are often not on an equal playing field to their able-bodied counterparts in regards to healthcare accessibility and fairness.

Throw in the curve balls of potential higher costs resulting from often more frequent needs to access GPS, specialists and the hospital sector, the often exhaustive need to justify these expenses and the potential long waits for services, and we’re looking at healthcare that is frequently exposed as being inequitable.

This unfair provision potentially also includes local unavailability of healthcare and medical providers, equipment that fails to address accessibility requirements, and even the attitudes, compassion, empathy and education of the professionals overseeing patient care. 

All too frequently we hear that people with disability are having their healthcare requirements overlooked, with equipment and training failing to meet the needs of many varied health-related experiences in a system often designed to cater for the majority at the expense of the rest.

Recent feedback from our members and the disability community, brave shares via social media and research around screening, treatment, procedures, their suitability and accessibility, highlight overstretched public health systems which are failing PWD - significantly affecting life expectancy and quality of life.

These instances have all steered us to run a webinar around “Accessible and Fair Healthcare”, with contributions from people who have encountered challenges and unfairness, professionals within the sector, government representatives and academics in the disability access space.

Our panel of expert speakers will bring a wealth of knowledge, understanding and experience to the conversation, exploring what is and isn’t working in Australia’s healthcare and medical systems for people living with disability.

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM is a frontline medical professional, working as a principal medical officer in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital. His understanding of the medical system, its resources, capabilities, successes, challenges and shortfalls will provide a thorough overview of what needs to be addressed to improve services to people with disability.

The inimitable Carol Taylor is also on our speaking panel. With a background in law, and as the world’s first quadriplegic fashion designer of adaptive fashion and inclusive design, she is already positioned as a strong disability advocate working towards positive change for Australia’s disability community. However, recent issues around her own health have amplified her passion for making things right in a healthcare system that needs to address accessibility and patient-centred care for people with disability.

Mandy Frier will also join the discussion. As the ‘Access for All: Disability awareness for health providers’ manager at CheckUP Australia, Mandy’s background in nutrition and dietetics and lived experience have seen her on the giving and receiving ends of healthcare for people with disability. This dual exposure to healthcare for people with disability has helped her understand the importance of disability awareness among health providers. Mandy strongly believes that providing healthcare which is fully inclusive and accessible (beyond just physical access) is an essential first step for all health professionals. Her PhD on the social determinants of health reinforces her commitment to true health equity for all. Mandy is a well respected public speaker and has had a number of articles published around her areas of expertise.

Another of our speakers that we are proud to announce is Dr Yi Yang, a Research Fellow with the University of Melbourne. Well respected and known for her research on health inequalities faced by people with disability, she is interested in quantifying inequalities in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and assessing the potential impact of policy changes in reducing these inequalities. As an epidemiologist, Yi has also led studies examining cancer inequalities among people with disability.

We are incredibly grateful to have these accomplished individuals as panelists at this upcoming webinar and thank them for agreeing to be involved.

Hosted by PDA’s CEO, Jeremy Muir, speakers will explore healthcare inequalities faced by people with disability and examine ways that policy change, training systems and accessible equipment and service provision can be improved and made fair in our country.

This webinar will reignite the conversation and provide important insights for people with disability, the healthcare sector, service providers and the very systems that need to hear what’s truly happening and what needs to be sorted now.

To address questions and experiences of those attending our webinar, we invite attendees to share these on registering. Anonymous contributions are welcome if preferred.

The opportunity to ask questions will also be made available during the webinar. However, these questions will be answered dependent on time constraints.

To register for the webinar, go to:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zzLprNATDeWu1GD8ARb5A

 

Please join us in this important conversation.

 

Key Facts:

PDA exists for its members, who fuel our mission to “enable every Australian living with a physical disability to realise their full potential”.

Through our work, we advocate to government, create equal opportunities, promote diversity and inclusion and ensure that our values within the organisation (and our representation of Australians living with physical disability) are reflected, upheld and defended.

Established in 1995, PDA is one of a very small handful of Australian disability organisations that actually has members and board representation in every Australian state and territory. With physical disability affecting 76.8% of Australia’s disability community, our organisation represents the largest disability category in our country. It is this visible and all-encompassing national footprint that ensures PDA truly has its finger on the pulse of disability in our country. This unique representative stance provides us with a strong voice and position to ensure that our organisation and members are heard and part of Australia’s disability conversation.

Together with the support of our incredible members and the ongoing work of our Board, we will continue to shine as an informed, influential, visible, active and connected organisation that puts disability rights at the forefront of all that we do.

About us:

Physical Disability Australia (PDA) is a national peak Disability Peoples Organisation (DPO) run by people with physical disability for people with physical disability.

Contact details:

Please direct all media inquiries to Jeremy Muir at [email protected]

 

For more information please contact Natasha Nobay (Communications and Engagement Manager) at PDA on 0477 974 056 or email [email protected]