The Council for Intellectual Disability (CID) is calling on all parties and candidates this Federal election to commit to providing quality, accessible healthcare for people with intellectual disability.
Ahead of the election campaign the council launched its Our Health Still Counts campaign, with three main points to improve healthcare for this vulnerable cohort.
In 2023, the Disability Royal Commission reported that people with intellectual disability are subject to ongoing “systemic neglect in the Australian health system”.
The Council says healthcare professionals do not receive proper training on how to support people with intellectual disability, and they have far higher rates of avoidable hospitalisation and a drastically lower life expectancy.
“These problems should not still be happening. People with intellectual disability have the right to good health care,” said Fiona McKenzie AM, CID Chairperson.
The Council said the National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability (2021) provided a plan to remedy these inequalities – but after three years, the implementation of these solutions is behind target.
Through the Our Health Still Counts campaign, it is calling on parties and candidates to provide a clear commitment to the full implementation of the roadmap – to save lives.
What does the campaign call for?
- Implement the Roadmap – Commit to a full and timely implementation of the steps set out in the National Roadmap.
- Training for healthcare professionals – The Government must ensure that health professionals and students get the training they need to provide quality health care to people with intellectual disability.
- Incentivise quality GP care – Pay doctors to spend more time with people with intellectual disability. CID welcomes the bipartisan election commitment to increase rates of bulk billing. However, this must be complemented by action to incentivise preventative health care and continuity of care for people with intellectual disability.
“People with intellectual disability die twenty-seven years younger because they don’t have the proper healthcare they need, and they’re not listened to,” Ms McKenzie said.
“The National Roadmap will help people with intellectual disability get proper healthcare. It will save lives.”
Read more about the campaign here.