CFAI 8 5 Epilepsy Ireland 9 16 Headway 42 13 Arthritis Ireland 9 0 Co. Roscommon 0 101 DSG MDI 14 10 IWA 258 2,037* * includes 230 core staff; 320 CE participants; 1,487 PAs ‘Skill mix’ Against a background of encouragement by government to match staff skills and qualifications more closely to needs of service users, some voluntary disability organisations have made innovations, not to cut their own costs, but intended to ensure the appropriate provision of vital therapeutic services by statutory and voluntary services together. One example of this is the system of Physiotherapy Assistants recruited and managed by MS Ireland, who work in an integrated way with the community physiotherapists their vision of what the service to provide the level of (‘complementing is’), intensity and duration of therapy which is essential to good outcomes. Box 3.2: Skill Mix: Example of MS Ireland MSI physiotherapy programme Research carried out by UL for MS Ireland concluded that consistent physiotherapy and other physical activity had a positive effect in maintaining mobility and flexibility. Because statutory provision could not provide the necessary frequency, MS Ireland raised funds to recruit and train (to minimum FETAC level 5) Physiotherapy Assistants, who work under the supervision of a chartered physiotherapist and in the overall context of a physiotherapy and exercise the programme, ‘Getting Balance Right’. Modelling independent living: people with disabilities as staff and Board members The original Independent Living Movement insisted that all its activities and services were to be decided, planned and managed by people with disabilities themselves. Although only two of the fifteen organisations followed this exact model, most began with a strong presence of people with disabilities (or, in the case of children with disabilities, their parents), who
CFAI 8 5 Epilepsy Ireland 9 16 Headway 42 13 Arthritis Ireland 9 0 Co. Roscommon DSG 0 101 MDI 14 10 IWA 258 2,037* * includes 230 core staff; 320 CE participants; 1,487 PAs ‘Skill mix’ Against a background of encouragement by government to match staff skills and qualifications more closely to needs of service users, some voluntary disability organisations have made innovations, not to cut their own costs, but intended to ensure the appropriate provision of vital therapeutic services by statutory and voluntary services together. One example of this is the system of Physiotherapy Assistants recruited and managed by MS Ireland, who work in an integrated way with the community physiotherapists (‘complementing their vision of what the service is’), to provide the level of intensity and duration of therapy which is essential to good outcomes. Box 3.2: Skill Mix: Example of MS Ireland MSI physiotherapy programme Research carried out by UL for MS Ireland concluded that consistent physiotherapy and other physical activity had a positive effect in maintaining mobility and flexibility. Because statutory provision could not provide the necessary frequency, MS Ireland raised funds to recruit and train (to minimum FETAC level 5) Physiotherapy Assistants, who work under the supervision of a chartered physiotherapist and in the overall context of a physiotherapy and exercise programme, ‘Getting the Balance Right’. Modelling independent living: people with disabilities as staff and Board members The original Independent Living Movement insisted that all its activities and services were to be decided, planned and managed by people with disabilities themselves. Although only two of the fifteen organisations followed this exact model, most began with a strong presence of people with disabilities (or, in the case of children with disabilities, their parents), who