CFAI 8 5 Epilepsy Ireland 9 16 Headway 42 13 Arthritis Ireland 9 0 Co. Roscommon DSG 0 101 MDI 14 10 IWA 258 2,037* * includes 230 core staff; 320 CE participants; 1,487 PAs ‘Skill mix’ Against a background of encouragement by government to match staff skills and qualifications more closely to needs of service users, some voluntary disability organisations have made innovations, not to cut their own costs, but intended to ensure the appropriate provision of vital therapeutic services by statutory and voluntary services together. One example of this is the system of Physiotherapy Assistants recruited and managed by MS Ireland, who work in an integrated way with the community physiotherapists (‘complementing their vision of what the service is’), to provide the level of intensity and duration of therapy which is essential to good outcomes. Box 3.2: Skill Mix: Example of MS Ireland MSI physiotherapy programme Research carried out by UL for MS Ireland concluded that consistent physiotherapy and other physical activity had a positive effect in maintaining mobility and flexibility. Because statutory provision could not provide the necessary frequency, MS Ireland raised funds to recruit and train (to minimum FETAC level 5) Physiotherapy Assistants, who work under the supervision of a chartered physiotherapist and in the overall context of a physiotherapy and exercise programme, ‘Getting the Balance Right’. Modelling independent living: people with disabilities as staff and Board members The original Independent Living Movement insisted that all its activities and services were to be decided, planned and managed by people with disabilities themselves. Although only two of the fifteen organisations followed this exact model, most began with a strong presence of people with disabilities (or, in the case of children with disabilities, their parents), who
Training and employment services Solas**** FÁS Supported Employment service Chartered Institute of Training & Development Skillnets Training Service Sureskills Training Local Employment and Training Boards Blanchardstown / Tolka Area Partnerships Associations and partnerships Not for Profit Business Association (NFPBA) European Platform for Rehabilitation Pluryn (Netherlands)***** Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) Irish Small and Medium Enterprises * Staff training programme ** Specific student support programme and other on-campus projects *** Association for Higher Education Access and Disability **** New national further education and training authority, replacing FÁS ***** Working together on integrated training/employment project in Romania 7.9 Key findings Across the fifteen organisations, there was a huge range and variety of connections: with other disability organisations; with statutory and voluntary agencies; community groups; local authorities; professionals especially in health and education; and Government departments. The day-to-day collaboration of an organisation’s key worker or caseworker with those local people and agencies that can assist and support an individual with a disability is a central aspect of the work of participating organisations. This might be to resolve a specific difficulty or to build an individual’s long-term support network, a task seen by many as a core responsibility. A number of examples were provided of disability organisations collaborating with each other to provide different elements of care and support for an individual. So in many instances it can certainly be said that, ‘there’s no-one in our service who’s receiving their total support from us’. Sometimes this grew out of the possible pathways an illness or condition may take. For example, Epilepsy Ireland has linked with Aware, as epilepsy can trigger depression. A crucial strength of many participating organisations is their networking with, and membership of, national and international bodies where expertise, experience and examples of good practice can be shared, and in some cases collective pressure generated for change. For example, several of the participating organisations are members of the Irish Medical Research