A new approach will see National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants discharged from hospital more quickly, Minister for the NDIS, the Hon. Bill Shorten said today.
Minister Shorten said the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is implementing an operational plan to reduce the time taken for participants to be discharged from hospital.
"At the moment there's too many NDIS participants stuck in hospital who are medically ready to be discharged, which is creating poor outcomes for participants and adding strain on hospitals across the country," Minister Shorten said.
"Improving the effectiveness of the NDIS and outcomes for participants including by addressing this problem has been a priority since Labor assumed Government.
"I have been working with states and territories on this matter and, following these discussions, I'm pleased to say the NDIA is starting to take steps to help speed up access and planning to support hospital discharge.
"What this operational plan will deliver is streamlined processes and faster decision-making from more NDIA staff, which will lead to better outcomes for participants and their families."
The operational plan includes:
- Increasing the number of dedicated Hospital Discharge staff supporting each state and territory, including additional Hospital Liaison Officers (HLOs) and NDIS hospital discharge planners.
- Increasing the delegation of those staff and streamlining processes to facilitate quicker decision-making.
- A commitment from the NDIA to contact every NDIS participant (or their authorised representative or nominee) within four days of being notified of their admission.
- A commitment from the NDIA that an NDIS discharge plan will be approved within 30 days.
- Enhanced data collection and reporting to measure progress against these commitments and identify reasons for any delay.
