eNews Autumn 2021

The EnableNSW SASH Home Modifications Program is coming to an end

Since 2018 the EnableNSW SASH Home Modifications (HM) Program has assisted 800 people with minor and major home modifications to help them manage their health condition safely at home. Unfortunately funding for this program has not been allocated beyond 30 June 2021. “From the beginning, we accepted this program would remain in place provided there was funding available. Our team made every effort to show the value of this program with each funding submission” Said Jackie Hiller, Manager EnableNSW

“On this occasion we were unsuccessful and undoubtedly disappointed by this outcome. Still our team can walk away with a real sense of accomplishment to be involved in a program that has had such tangible positive impacts on the lives of patients and their families” she continued.

Therapists who have questions about requests or enquires that have already been submitted should contact the EnableNSW SASH HM Advisors on 1800 362 253 or send their enquiry to HSNSW-Enable.SASHhomemods@health.nsw.gov.au.

All requests or enquiries that are received over the next few weeks will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

“We are encouraging health professionals from across NSW to call us and tell us about their patient’s individual circumstances so we can be transparent about whether we can progress the request through SASH HM before 30 June 2021 or if they need to look for alternate Government funding” said Jemma Burns, Senior Clinical Advisor EnableNSW

The EnableNSW SASH HM program will finish on 30 June 2021, however the dedicated SASH HM clinical advisors will be available into July 2021 to answer remaining questions and monitor requests still in the process of being completed.

The team at EnableNSW would like to extend their gratitude to every person who submitted feedback and shared their stories.

“We would like to thank everybody who has taken the time to complete surveys and provide their feedback, including the detailed patient stories to go with the funding submission. This has been extremely valuable in keeping the program in place for the last two and half years”

The EnableNSW SASH HM Program Evaluation survey is still open and therapists are encouraged to complete the survey for every home modification completed since October 2018 as this information may be useful in the future.

NDIS Hospital Discharge Pathway ending soon

A recent decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to include private hire of Assistive Technology (AT) as part of a renewed national approach will see the NDIS Hospital Discharge Pathway come to an end by 30 June 2021.

Since March 2020, the pathway has supported over 227 patients to leave hospital with clinically appropriate loan equipment including wheelchairs, beds, mattresses and bathing equipment, with 90% of these items delivered from the EnableNSW Equipment Centre (EEC).

“The goal of this pathway is to help people leave hospital as soon as they are medically ready. We know that sometimes patients spend more time in hospital than they have to simply because they don’t have the right equipment to discharge home” said Greg Foreman Senior Project Officer, EnableNSW

“The success of this temporary pathway during Covid19 has shown that together with Local Health Districts (LHDs), we can work more collaboratively to free up valuable resources and discharge people sooner to their home environment. This has many positive impacts on both the person, their family and the health system more broadly” he continued.

The NDIS Hospital Discharge Pathway will continue to accept all requests until 28 May 2021, however only stock standard requests that can be delivered from the EEC will continue through until 30 June 2021. After this time, any requests will need to be escalated to the LHD NDIS Transition Lead and or the Health Liaison Officer.

“We have heard from many clinicians who have told us how valuable this pathway was, especially at a time when COVID-19 was demanding extra resources” said Jackie Hiller, Manager EnableNSW.

“Now that the NDIA have ended all their COVID-19 pathways, it’s timely that clinicians refamiliarise themselves with their LHD escalation pathways for all urgent requests, especially if hospital discharge is being impacted” she continued.

Please direct all enquiries about this change or about existing/new requests to Greg Foreman at HSNSW-EnableDRP@health.nsw.gov.au.

Prescriber education sessions continuing online

The EnableNSW prescriber education sessions have resumed for 2021 using zoom as the preferred platform. The focus is on helping prescribers understand the available programs, tips for prescription success as well as the eligibility criteria for people to access EnableNSW.

“The goal of this education program has always been to help prescribers succeed (first go) at getting the right equipment for their patients. We know this success increases when clinicians understand both our eligibility criteria as well as the equipment funding criteria” said Louise Mather-Mullard, Manager Clinical Services, EnableNSW.

This year there will be new equipment topics covered across the following sessions:

• Prescription success for self-care and mobility equipment
• Overview of bariatric equipment
• Beds, mattresses and pressure care equipment
• Self-care and transfer equipment

To ensure maximum engagement and to give prescribers the best virtual experience, sessions may be capped. To secure your spot for one of these sessions, email your interest to HSNSW-EAPVisits@health.nsw.gov.au or visit the prescriber education page for more information.

The prescriber education program schedule will be revisited later in the year to reconsider on site face to face training. We will continue to follow the health advice and update our program accordingly.

Updated seated mobility funding criteria now available

In consultation with expert clinicians from across each Local Health District (LHD), the EnableNSW clinical team recently hosted a technical working group (TWG) to review the seated mobility funding criteria.

The updated funding criteria gives eligible prescribers clearer guidelines for equipment and accessories provided through the aids and equipment program (AEP) with reference to two appendices, A and B.

“We appreciate the time and effort our clinical partners invest in these TWGs, their valuable insights from within their own clinical services are necessary and important. Said Jemma Burns, Senior Clinical Advisor for EnableNSW

“We develop these criterias for clinicians to help their patients, so it’s only reasonable they have a seat at the table when it is time to make changes that will impact patient outcomes”.  She continued.

The updated funding criteria and appendices are now available from the EnableNSW website.

Bathing, showering, toileting and transfer aid funding criteria currently under review

The EnableNSW clinical team is currently collaborating with partners from across various Local Health Districts (LHDs) to review the bathing, showering and toileting funding criteria as well as the transfer aid funding criteria. The objective of both technical working groups (TWG) is to ensure the funding criterias are updated and guided by current and safe clinical practices.

“Clinicians who work with patients everyday bring the patient’s voice to these discussions. We learn about their patient’s lived experiences, challenges and health outcomes. The goal is to provide funding guidelines that allows the clinicians to provide the safest, most cost effective and clinically appropriate equipment to manage the persons health need or disability” said Louise Mather-Mullard, Manager Clinical Services, EnableNSW.

The updated funding criterias will be available on the EnableNSW website in the coming months. To ensure you never miss an update, always check the what’s new section on the EnableNSW homepage and access forms and funding criteria directly from the website.

Seeking expert Speech Pathologists from across NSW to review funding criteria

The EnableNSW clinical respiratory team will be seeking nominations from expert Speech Pathology Clinicians to join a technical working group (TWG) to review the funding criteria for Voice prosthesis, Laryngectomy consumables and Electrolarynx.

Participants for the TWG will be encouraged from each of the Local Health Districts (LHDs) and Networks via their Chief Executives, as well as a consumer representative and representation from Speech Pathology Australia (NSW branch).

“We are looking forward to collaborating with expert Speech Pathologists from across NSW  to discuss current  best practice in their area and update  the EnableNSW funding criteria ”  said Daniel Flunt, Senior Respiratory Clinical Advisor for EnableNSW

If you or someone you know is keen to share their clinical experiences in the upcoming TWG, send an email to Dr Carly Hollier at enable@health.nsw.gov.au. The TWG will consist of an initial two hour workshop, followed by a consultation with your clinical networks and a final review meeting to reach consensus.

Consumer, clinician and COVID-19 experience shaping respiratory funding criteria

EnableNSW has recently completed a review of the Adult Funding Criteria for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), Nocturnal ventilation (bi-level) and Continuous Ventilation Assistive Technology to ensure funding decisions are in line with current evidence and clinical practice.

The Adult Funding Criteria has been updated through majority consensus of a technical working group (TWG) of expert clinicians from across all Local Health Districts (LHD), and representation from the Agency for Clinical Innovation, Australasian Sleep Association and Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

The team was also grateful to have a consumer representative who provided great knowledge and insight into his lived experience as a ventilator user since 1994.

“We’ve always known the patient experience and journey is important but undertaking reviews like this and engaging with expert clinicians and consumer representatives reminds us that every decision we make internally has an impact on someone living in the community, which is why HealthShare NSW is partnering for patients to ensure we bring our patients with us on the journey” said Dr Carly Hollier, Respiratory Clinical Advisor for EnableNSW.

While the impacts of COVID delayed the release of the criteria in 2020, it did allow the team to test many of the recommended changes that were raised by the TWG.

The main changes to the updated funding criteria were shaped by:

• Pre-COVID TWG recommendations
• Review of the general quality and safety aspects of the applications over the previous year
• Need for better alignment with evidence around the management of patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome and non-hypercapnic central sleep apnoea
• Feedback from clinicians about the alternative pathways released during COVID-19 that were designed to support them in dealing with clinical service disruptions

While the core diagnostic and testing requirements have not significantly changed, requirements for testing in the funding criteria have been updated in line with technological advances and changing models of care during and post-COVID. This will help patients and clinicians by giving greater flexibility over requirements for meeting the criteria.

“Clinicians told us the reduction of the home trial from four to two weeks in the COVID-era was very helpful in reducing time (and cost) of hiring equipment and improving turnover of LHD loan pool devices, and will therefore be a welcome addition to the new criteria” said Carly.

The updated funding criteria will be available early June on the EnableNSW website.  Please also refer to the EnableNSW website for opportunities in the near future to attend virtual meetings where the Respiratory Clinical Advisors at EnableNSW will present and discuss the updated criteria.

Updated compression request forms with delivery options now available

A recent review of internal processes for custom made compression garments has resulted in updated forms that include an option for two deliveries.

Section two (2) of the compression garment request form and the reorder form now include an option to indicate if two deliveries will be required. To ensure correct fit, people who use custom made garments to manage their lymphedema may need to be remeasured before their second set of garments is sent to them, this results in two separate delivery charges.

“We usually find out about the second delivery after it happens, which means our team spend a considerable amount of time adjusting purchase orders and going back and forth with our suppliers” said Mark Rowlinson, Business Support and Vendor Manager

“When we know about this upfront, it means we can plan ahead and send the supplier a purchase order with two delivery amounts to cover both deliveries” he continued.

To ensure all requests are processed in a timely manner, therapists who prescribe custom made compression garments are being asked to delete all locally saved forms and access the updated forms directly from the EnableNSW website.

If you would like to learn more about this change, you can speak to the team on 1800 362 253 (option 5) or send an email to enable@health.nsw.gov.au.

Updated Footwear and Orthoses Request Form and Criteria now available

The EnableNSW website has recently been updated to include a revised version of the Footwear (FW) and Orthoses Equipment Request Form as well as updated Footwear and Lower Limb Orthoses funding criteria’s.

All three documents were reviewed and updated following consultation with expert clinicians from Local Health Districts (LHDs), the Pedorthic Association of Australia and the Agency for Clinical Innovation.

“The Technical Working Group we ran in 2020 provided us with valuable clinical insights that helped shape these documents” said Jemma Burns, Senior Clinical Advisor for EnableNSW

“One of the main changes is the footwear categories in the funding criteria. The updated information is now clearer and should make it easier for prescribers to provide the required clinical details for their patients”.

Other changes to the documents include:

• Clearer guidelines that are consistent with the NSW Health Assistive Technology Policy
• The removal of evaluation forms, which means prescribers can submit feedback through an email or amended request form AND
• An editable Equipment request Form, which means prescribers can type straight into the form and email their request to enable@health.nsw.gov.au

To understand the recent changes, prescribers are encouraged to visit the EnableNSW website and always access the updated documents from the forms and funding criteria page.

Changes in policy making it simpler for some Visa holders to access EnableNSW

In August last year, the NSW Ministry of Health released the NSW Health Assistive Technology Policy Directive PD2020_26. The revised policy has made it easier to understand the eligibility requirements for funding assistance through EnableNSW and in particular eligibility for visa holders.

We are pleased to let you know visa holders who reside in NSW or Lorde Howe Island and are enrolled with Medicare are now eligible to apply for assistance through EnableNSW.

The changes introduced mean that visa holders with chronic health conditions can receive the assistance they require, provided they are enrolled with Medicare (full enrolment or interim enrolment only). It is no longer necessary for a person to be a permanent resident of NSW or hold a permanent humanitarian visa to be eligible for EnableNSW. As a general reminder people will still need to meet the funding criteria in addition to the eligibility criteria.

“We encourage people to use the eligibility indicator on the EnableNSW website before they make an application. This tool will give people a good indication if their individual circumstances meet the eligibility requirements for funding support” Said Dijana Angeleski, project Officer EnableNSW.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to our team about this change, please call 1800 362 253 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) or send your enquiry to enable@health.nsw.gov.au.