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Caithness.org News Bulletins - October 2002 |
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| October 2002 Index | ||
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MORE SUPPORT FOR SENSORY NEEDS IN HIGHLAND The Highland Council has agreed a range of proposals to further develop community services offered to people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, or deafblind. Targeted developments and funding have been approved to strengthen the work of the Council's Social Work Services Hearing Support team which operates from a base in Dingwall. This package will; * see the establishment of a new post of Hearing Support Co-ordinator; * lead to the increased availability of Support Workers
to undertake assessments and deliver equipment * provide targeted training to ensure that key
frontline staff are equipped to deliver more specialist These measures have been given strong backing by Councillor Olwyn MacDonald who is Vice Chair of Highland Council's Housing & Social Work Committee and Chair of the Co-ordinating Sub-Committee on Services for People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. She said: "This will lead to very tangible improvements for people with sensory needs. I am delighted that these measures will not only lead to the development of more specialist services, but will also improve the mainstream services that so many people rely upon. "The additional resources will also help the team to work more closely with services for those with a vision impairment. This is to be welcomed as it will improve the quality of dual sensory assessments and the targeting of scarce equipment." The Council has also secured the agreement of a wide range of organisations to develop a single strategy to address the needs of individuals with a wide range of sensory impairments. A crucial aspiration of this proposal with be the development of a more integrated approach across agencies and sectors to reflect the true complexity of the range of support needs within Highland Communities. Councillor David Flear, The Highland Council's spokesperson for Community Care and Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee for Action in Community Care said: "This initiative will represent a significant step forward for Highland and will ensure that a wide range of services will be provided to help people with sensory needs reach their full potential and improve their quality of life. The development of a such a strategy will promote co-operation between organisations at all levels to avoid duplication, provide better joint working arrangements and encourage a greater appreciation and sharing of best practice." The development of the Single Strategy will involve widespread and targeted consultation to properly shape and inform service developments. A challenging timescale of next June has been set for completion. By then it is hoped that full consideration will have been given to strengthening existing services and fully exploring more integrated and innovative forms of support. more follows The Strategy will also have a clear framework for implementation developed which will outline commitments and timescales for the public. A Multi-agency Working Group is being established to take forward the development of the strategy and will be jointly lead by Social Work Services and NHS Highland. Any member of the public or agency wishing to be involved in the process should make contact with Sandy Riddell, Head of Operations, Social Work Services, Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX. Telephone 01463 702874 or email; [email protected]
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