Around 30% of people walking through the doors of Hutt Hospital identify themselves as disabled, with one in four people in New Zealand living with a disability.
The Wellington region’s DHBs run a Disability Responsiveness Programme to empower our disabled community, making sure they have a voice within the health system and that their needs are addressed. DHBs feel it is the environment, rather than an impairment, which disables a person. The environment can be adapted to meet a person’s specific support needs.
Health Passports
Anyone with a long term condition or disability, who has support needs, would benefit from using the Health Passport.
The Health Passport has information about your health which belongs to you. You choose to write in it what you want a health professional to know about you. Examples could be how you want to be communicated with, or what gives you anxiety. When you go into any healthcare situation you choose to hand over your Health Passport. The healthcare professional will be able to read it and know all the information without you having to explain.
You can get a Health Passport and find out more by visiting the Hutt Valley DHB Disability Initiatives team who are on hand every Monday from 10 am to 12 noon in the main entrance foyer at Hutt Hospital. You can read more about Health Passports here.
To find out more information on the disability responsiveness programme, or to request a Health Passport, please call 0800 DISABILITY (0800 3472245489) or email SRDAG@sidu.org.nz
