Valuing and supporting disabled people and their family and whanau

A literature review and gap analysis of the ‘high and complex needs’ workforce training needs

A key objective in the Ministry of Health’s Disability Support Services Workforce Action Plan is building a competent workforce that highly values and actively supports disabled people, and their family/whānau. At the high end of the support spectrum there is a small and unique group of disabled people with “high and complex needs”.

This project aimed to determine whether sufficient training is currently available in New Zealand to help build a competent workforce capable of supporting disabled people with “high and complex needs” in the community.

To better understand this, the key support needs of disabled people with “high and complex needs” and family/whānau were identified. The key skills and competencies required of the workforce and NZQA and non-NZQA training available to address these were also assessed.