The Disability Liaison Officer at Western Health can help support people with disability, their families and carers to use hospital services and access the care and treatment they need. The service has a strong focus on making sure people with a disability can access screening and treatment for COVID-19.

The Disability Liaison roles are part of a 12 month DHHS Covid-19 disability sector response

First Stage – Covid-19 Outbreak Preparedness

Assistance for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) to assess their preparedness to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks
On-site support for SDA's within the Western region and assist with implementing and providing information and resources regarding infection prevention, correct use of PPE and waste management
Support for people with a disability, their families and carers in accessing assessment and/or treatment for COVID-19 as well increasing attendance to other on site services

Second Stage – Improving Disability Sector and Health Service Interface

Disability specific secondary consultation to support the broader health service to provide more accessible, safer and more inclusive care to people with a disability
Be the point of contact for patients, SDA providers, family and carers for inpatient and outpatient services to assist with:

- Information and support for inpatient teams regarding individuals care needs in hospital and at home

- Undertake outreach and assessment where there is evidence that people with a disability may not be accessing healthcare due to a range of barriers

- Connect community services that provide support where there is a gap in existing services if that gap may result in the person with a disability having a higher risk of unnecessary admissions to hospital and longer lengths of stays

What we do:

Provide support for all people with a disability, including Aboriginal and LGBTQI persons
Support people with a disability, their families and carers to access COVID-19 screening and treatment
Support people with a disability, their families and carers to access other services across Western Health and their usual health services
Work with your health care teams to provide safer, accessible and more inclusive care during your hospital stay and outpatient clinic appointments.
Assist with accessing services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

COVID-19:

Please click on this https://coronavirus.wh.org.au/for the most up to date advice from Western Health about COVID-19.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms and cannot leave home due to disability or the need to care for others, then you can be tested at home. The Call-to-Test service is run by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. To access it, call the DHHS coronavirus (COVID-19) hotline on 1800 675 398 and select option 9.

For further information go to https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/covid-19-testing-in-disability-sector-factsheet-doc

Read about the Call-to-Test service in Easy English.

Alternatively you can contact the Disability Liaison Officer on 0434 954 083 or 0435 208 209 to assist with COVID-19 testing.