How our Disability Liaison Officers support person-centred care

A spinal epidural abscess left Brad with paraplegia in 2016. Since then, he has been a regular consumer of the RMH’s services. 

Brad has said the RMH Disability Liaison Officers have been key in managing ongoing issues associated with his condition.

“They’ve helped me navigate the NDIS which is a very complex system to work through,” Brad said.

“They’ve helped within the hospital setting. They’ve made sure that appropriate equipment has been available for me when I’ve come into hospital.

“I always feel welcome coming into the hospital, even though it is quite daunting and scary at times.”

Jenni Medland is a Disability Liaison Officer at the RMH, helping Brad and others to navigate our services.

“I think that one of the best things working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and what we do best is ‘People First’ and really trying to target the patient and who they are rather than just their condition,” Jenni said.

“That’s why we really encourage patients to let us know about their individual care needs as soon as they enter hospital, so we can put a patient-centred care plan in place for them.”

Brad added: “Everyone’s disability is unique to themselves, so there’s no ‘one glove fits all’.

“Having the opportunity to speak out first, to let the staff at the hospital know that you have a disability, what accessibility you need to have access to and things like that, would be very useful to talk to somebody about.

“The Disability Liaison Officers are very supportive of people with disability, they understand.”