Created after two years of consultation with the wider disability community, in partnership with the Donald Beasley Institute, the strategy sets out goals for the next five years and beyond.
Leading the push to bring those goals to fruition are Disability Working Group chairman John Marrable and SDHB Quality and Clinical Governance Solutions executive director Gail Thomson.
"This is an exciting opportunity to get the strategy up and running, with the input of disability advocates from across the region," Mr Marrable said.
"We will be involving people with a variety of impairments and many different experiences in the process.
"There will be challenges working across such a large region, but we will be working very hard to overcome them — to get an action plan and time frame established."
The strategy would build on the work already achieved by the SDHB to improve the experiences and health outcomes for people with disabilities and their whanau, Ms Thomson said.
It was timely to be working to implement the strategy at the same time as the new Dunedin Hospital was being designed.
"We now have the opportunity to incorporate these in the planning for the new hospital, so going forward our new facilities will be accessible for everyone,” Ms Thomson said.
"As part of that, we will be working on really raising the profile of consumer experiences, and ensuring that we are representing the communities that we serve."
The SDHB is responsible for providing health and disability services to about 300,000 people south of the Waitaki river — of these 79,000 people (26%) are identified as disabled.
The Disability Strategy has three main goals: to be bold and purposeful; to be equitable, responsive and accessible; and to be inclusive of individuals, whanau and community.
For Mr Marrable, the "bold and purposeful" goal highlights that the board can become a leader in providing services that meet the needs of all.
"Achieving this goal will mean raising awareness of disability, and focusing on giving every person 100% service," he said.
The goal of "inclusiveness" highlighted the need to ensure all patients were listened to, and that they had every opportunity to live well in the community, Ms Thomson said.
"There are a plethora of organisations out there in the disability space, and the inclusiveness goal is also around funding of services.
"Regardless of where the service is, it is important that we make it as seamless as possible — so that funding does not become a barrier in itself."
The goal of being "equitable, responsive, and accessible" would be greatly enhanced by the building of the new Dunedin Hospital, Ms Thomson said.
"Some of our hospitals are more accessible than others — we cannot wait for the new build."
People with disabilities were among the many people who were giving input into the design of the hospital — from toilets to the reception areas, Mr Marrable said.
"There are many factors to take into account in the hospital design, so it is a good thing that we have the knowledge here in Dunedin to make sure things turn out right."
The Government’s announcement yesterday of sweeping changes to New Zealand’s health system, including the eventual scrapping of District Health Boards, would not impact on work relating to the Disability Strategy, Ms Thomson said.
"A lot of our work is unquestionably moving us in the right direction based on today’s announcements about equitable health care and improved health outcomes for all.
"Even with the regional and national changes announced, local delivery will be critical to achieving better outcomes for people with disability.
"We are and will remain fully committed to driving this work forward," she said.
