Otago groups should be allowed to have regular input into the Otago District Health Board on disability issues as part of a new network.
The board's acting chairwoman of the disability support advisory committee, Helen Algar, said this week the group, known at this stage as the Combined Disability Network Otago, would meet quarterly to discuss matters of mutual interest.
After discussion, it was agreed the committee would recommend to the board that regional general manager of planning and funding, David Chrisp, and any interested committee members, would attend the quarterly meetings.
Members Helen Algar, Louise Carr and Heather Clay indicated they were all interested in regular attendance.
At this stage, the group included the Disability Information Service, Pact, CCS, Age Concern, the Community Living Trust and the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.
This was not an exclusive group and people would be able to come and go as they wished, Mrs Algar said.
It was not clear at this stage how it would evolve.
The committee will also recommend to the board that it consider the possibility of having two senior managers attend the network meetings to address operational topics of mutual interest.
The question of how the board should liaise with groups in the disability/aged care sector has been on the committee agenda since last October when a group calling itself the Pan Disability Agency Management Group expressed concern about the priority given by the board to disability-related issues.
It highlighted instances of inadequate treatment of patients and called for better communication between the sector and the board in the hope of improving the care of people while also ensuring that money was well used.
