James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Assessments of people with disabilities are conducted for many reasons. The type of assessment conducted reflects the purpose for which the assessment is being completed. Assessments for mobility aids are generally carried out by an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist. Items which are essential to ensure safety, dignity and independence are prioritised on the basis of the assessment and funded from the disability services budget. However, while assessments, including those relating to mobility aids, are not based on medical diagnosis, the Deputy may be referring to the fact that services for people with disabilities have traditionally been delivered according to the medical model of disability and the fact that decisions on the allocation of resources have rested with administrators and health professionals, rather than with service users.

The value for money and policy review of disability services which was published in July by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, notes that the objectives of the disability services programme have been pursued through an approach based on a medical model of disability which is heavily professionalised, resource intensive and delivered in segregated group-based settings. The review concluded that this model of service was not compatible with the achievement of best outcomes and the exercise of choice and control by the individual. It recommends a significant restructuring of the disability services programme through migration towards a model of person-centred, individually chosen supports and implementation of a more effective method of assessing need, allocating resources and monitoring resource usage. The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive are developing an implementation framework for the recommendations contained in the value for money report, including the move towards a person-centred model of service which will reflect the social rather than the medical model of disability in all facets of disability service provision.

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