‘Person-centred’ at the NZDSN Conference 2015

Le Va was privileged to partner with Te Pou recently at the annual two-day New Zealand Disability Support Network conference at Te Papa Museum in Wellington where we presented our disability work, which included promoting resources and tools for the workforce and people using services. 

With a conference theme of Partnerships for Outcomes: New models in Action, examples of successful and proposed partnership models were showcased, putting disabled people in the driver’s seat.  

Papers and presentations were organised around the following five work streams: 
1. Person-directed planning and decision making 
2. Partnership initiatives in service provision 
3. Workforce development and the voice of disabled people 
4. Monitoring, evaluation, governance and leadership 
5. Organisational capacity, leadership and management

There were clear messages throughout the two days around having a person-centred approach with individuals who access disability support services and also within the workforce and organisations. 

This was a particular focus of keynote speaker Gillian Bailey who shared what she believed to be the three key personalised approaches to planning and support that will place the person receiving support in the driver’s seat: one page profiles, person-centred reviews and working together for change.  

Our Organisational Guidelines for Disability Support Services: Working with Pasifika People with Disabilities and their Families are focussed on a person-centred approach as best practice.  

The nine guidelines are shaped by principles, with one being on ‘quality health and disability support services’, where the key dimensions of quality are access, equity, cultural competence, safety, effectiveness, efficiency and person-centredness. These are also based on the Minsitry of Health’s Ala Mo’ui: Pathways to Pacific Health and Wellbeing 2014-2018. 

The second of the nine guidelines is to ‘focus on a person-centred family approach’ in order to build a relationship of trust and work effectively with Pasifika disabled people and their families. The guideline gives a case study example and highlights organisational cultural competency:

Check out all the guidelines and read for yourself how to enhance your organisation’s cultural competency to work more effectively with Pasifika people and their families.

Scenes from the conference.