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“We were concerned to hear that the provision of equipment for sick children is beset by difficulties. We recommend suitable mechanisms to improve the overall management and coordination of the purchasing, utilisation, maintenance and evaluation of equipment by health, social and education services and the voluntary sector.”House of Commons Health Committee [edited]
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Children with disabilities often need specialised equipment to enable them to make the most out of life. Despite its importance, provision of this equipment is often poorly coordinated with no consistency in what is provided nor how it is funded. In East Norfolk we have developed an interagency group to address this problem. It includes members from the three main agencies (health, social services, and education) encompassing a range of professional expertise in assessing children's equipment needs. It funds equipment that is not routinely provided by one or other of the statutory agencies, and is financed by equal recurring contributions from all three agencies. This article describes how we got there.
It was a public health exercise in that it is based on a health needs assessment, it covers an administratively and geographically defined population, it required multiagency collaboration, and is subject to ongoing monitoring and evaluation. It also depended on those other essential criteria for a successful public health initiative: luck, opportunism, and compromise.
Background
In the past 10 years the complexity of equipment has increased dramatically, with advances in computer technology and in the application of ergonomic and orthotic principles. As a result, the potential benefits to children have increased, as have the costs. Parents have become more assertive, and organisations in the voluntary sector have become more effective in applying pressure on the statutory agencies. There has therefore been a rising demand on therapists, paediatricians, social workers, and educationalists to supply appropriate, high quality …