Labour shortage in disability sector

The disability sector needs a root and branch overhaul in its workforce also that from its more practical grassroots level it will meet the sometimes overwhelming needs that cry out for attention.

If regulated properly a bottom-up approach within the disability sector can help build ways to share and disseminate information and stories, so that people can gain inspiration and correction where they need to be put right. In this way community-based peer relationships can develop in both formal and informal ways. When people are truly supporting each other and aware that they indeed need each other's support then this leads to greater independence and perhaps even a trimming of the hard edges of the work-load. Those working in the sector must suffer stress and yet a "synergistic" approach which understands how the person served can also be stressed by the support worker's stress, may well be inclined to develop a more realistic approach for all involved.

Of course we need to increase the practicality of the state disability plan so that people with disabilities are more fully able to publicly acknowledge the vital assistance they receive from support workers. For example, the implementation of disability support worker awards, will also help DHS to get a handle on the quality of work and the workers and learn to assess the skills that are of greatest use in the sector tby ta0king a lead from the people who know - the people who are served and who can see with their own eyes the great support that is rendered.

This kind of morale-boosting reward system would have a positive impact on the disability work force, boosting the work carried out by the support workers. The sector needs to find ways to support its best workers and to encourage those who don't know how to offer what is truly needed.

However, each individual support worker should be judged on his or her merits. But this innovation may have teething problems - but that is to be expected. It may be true that workers also need further education - for example in skills, legal aspects and other matters. But in many cases support workers have demonstrated their capacity of compassionate and wise support before they go on courses and they have thereby shown that they are already good workers within Disability Services. The key idea for is this: don't forget to ask the person who knows, the one who is on the receiving end of the support that is offered!