A DAMNING draft report on the ACT Government's disability equipment scheme says the service is inadequate and disjointed, with vast problems and archaic record-keeping.
It recommends a complete overhaul of the system which currently subsidises the cost of wheelchairs, prostheses and other personal items and says they should be fully funded.
ACT Health took a year to release the report after receiving it in May last year. Some disability organisations received copies of the draft report only last Tuesday, making it impossible to comment by the original Monday deadline.
The draft report detailed horror stories of families forced to wait months for essential equipment or manage without. It said some people required hospitalisation because of a lack of equipment, while others had moved to Queanbeyan to access the more generous NSW system.
In one case, a mother with a disabled child had a suction unit to clear the child's airway on a three-month loan. She was asked to return it after the allotted time but would not do so as she could not afford to buy one. Two years later, in March 2008, the situation still was not resolved.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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