News

We are pleased to share the summary of our recent consultation on the IDEA Services’ National Service Review.

At the IHC Annual General Meeting in 2019, we signalled our intention to look at services to align them better with what people with widely differing needs were seeking. The COVID-19 pandemic turned everything upside down for us all. Regardless, we decided to go ahead with the discussions and issued a consultation document for feedback. Conversations have been lively, thoughtful and challenging.

This report summarises responses from people we support, family/whānau, Associations, staff and Needs Assessment and Service Coordination services (NASCs). Every effort was made to support people to provide their feedback.

We:

• Invited people to give their thoughts over a seven-week period (eight weeks for people we support).
• Hosted family/whānau and IHC Association forums across the country to discuss the consultation document which more than 800 people attended overall.
• Ran focus groups for the people we support, which approximately 580 people attended.
• Gathered feedback through a variety of ways (e.g. online, email, mail).

Feedback varied from single statements to extensive comments on all the concepts. We thank all those who have contributed their feedback, thoughts and ideas throughout the process.

No decisions have been made yet. The IDEA Services Board will be discussing it at their 22 October meeting and deciding on next steps. We will communicate the Board’s decision in November.

Joan Cowan

IDEA Services Chief Operating Officer