Deaf Australia wishes to say thank you for helping to flatten the Covid-19 in the last few weeks. We are looking forward to easing the restrictions as there are fewer Covid-19 cases that are emerging.
We wish to remind you that there is potential ‘2nd wave’ of Covid-19 and for all of us to maintain our social distance until vaccination become available. Recent work into vaccination are promising and they need to go through steps to ensure that the vaccination is safe for people.
Deaf Australia encourage members of the Deaf community to
download ‘COVIDSafe’ App that will help tracking other people or to yourself
should you get in touch with someone who have COVID.
It is also important that having the App does not mean you
are safe; it means it offers you and the community with extra precautions to
stem down the Covid-19 and to assist Health officers to quickly contact the
others to control the Covid-19.
Some people are worried about privacy. It is important to
know that the App only have your name, your age range and post code. Government
do not have other details. All activities are stored in your phone and is
stored for 21 days. After 21st day, your activities will be deleted.
If and when you have Covid-19, the health official will ask
you to upload your information from COVID-19. They will use this information to
track your contacts in the 21 days to make to minimise the spread.
We need your help to flatten the Covid-19. To download the
App, you can go to App Store for Android and Apple. It is free.
Deaf Australia submitted ‘Issues and Challenge with Telehealth Service and Medical Services for Auslan users during Coronavirus (COVID-19) to the Advisory Committee formed by Morrison Government focusing on provision of medical supports for People with Disability. You can find this document here.
The document recommends the following:
That the Government provide an instructional video in Auslan describing to deaf community how to use a Telehealth services, showing examples of different technologies (tablet, iPad, smartphone);
That the Government fund deaf people through their NDIS or My Aged Care and individuals not eligible for either programs to cover their out-of-pocket costs for required use of video interpreting services;
That the Government enter an agreement with reputable interpreting agencies to provide interpreting services for the telehealth service; whereby the agencies shall:
Be listed as primary Telehealth Interpreting Services;
Ensure that interpreters are appropriately qualified for these bookings; and
Be compensated for the service rendered.
That the COVID-19 National Health Plan (factsheet) to contain listings of agreed interpreting services available for Deaf people to make informed choices of which agency to use for their Telehealth appointment;
In the case where a deaf person is required to be hospitalised, the hospital is responsible to source an interpreter through their current arrangement, however, interpreters must be provided with appropriate protection gear when required;
If the hospital is unable to bring an interpreter onsite, then they should use a video-enabled tablet to connect with the interpreter while providing care to the deaf patient; and
The Department of Health to explore enhancing its remote hospital service to allow 3-way video-connections so that doctors can provide support remotely through remote interpreters with a deaf person in a medical service.
We also discussed with Department of Social Services the following topics:
Telehealth (as above)
Deaf children studying at home
Seniors requiring to stay at home with little or no communication supports
We also met with World Federation of the Deaf and is joined by New Zealand and Fiji to discuss the following topics:
Interpreter on TV
Deaf children’s education (study at home)
Access to medical services and
Use of technology and devices to enable access to essential services.
World Federation of the Deaf advised that the upcoming World Federation of the Deaf International Conference held in Thailand (2021) has not been changed but will monitor the situation, as with World Federation of the Deaf Congress in South Korea in 2023.
Thank you to deaf organisations and ASLIA for contribution to the work that Deaf Australia does.
We are a diverse range of organisations from across Australia, representing the interests of people with disability, their families, carers and support persons. Collectively, we have significant, direct and growing knowledge of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID19) on people with disability in Australia.
Australians with disability represent some of the most excluded of all
Australians in relation to the impacts of Coronavirus. Our needs remain largely
forgotten as evidenced by the fact that people with disability are rarely if
ever, mentioned in any press conference, media release or government
conversation about Coronavirus. The national discourse relating to Coronavirus
is inherently ableist – preferencing able-bodied
people as the norm. This ableist discourse is resulting in the exclusion of
people with disability in efforts to prevent the spread of and address, the impact
of the Coronavirus.
We are deeply concerned by the lack of specific and targeted measures
from Australian Governments to proactively protect and support people with
disability, their families, carers and support persons from the impact of
COVID19.
We call on all Australian Governments to take the following URGENT actions to protect the lives of Australians with disability in the context of COVID19:
Guarantee continuity of supports for all people with disability
Expand criteria for COVID19 testing to include people with disability and their support persons.
Urgently improve information and communications to be inclusive of all people with disability.
Take measures to remove the barriers to adequate healthcare for people with disability.
Include recipients of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) in the Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per fortnight.
Urgently define what constitutes an ‘essential service’ for people with disability.
Ensure effective measures are in place to recognise and respond to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of people with disability.
Prevent discrimination of students with disability in the provision of education.
Ensure the human rights of people with disability in congregate and other settings are upheld.
Adequately resource Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) and Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) to enable support of, and advocacy for, people with disability.
First Peoples Disability Network Women with Disabilities Australia People with Disability Australia National Ethnic Disability Alliance Children and Young People with Disability Australia Australian Federation of Disability Organisations Disability Advocacy Network Australia Deaf Australia Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia Deafblind Australia Deafness Forum of Australia Brain Injury Australia Inclusion Australia Blind Citizens Australia Down Syndrome Australia Physical Disability Australia Every Australian Counts Disability Resources Centre Advocacy Ideas Disability Justice Australia Enhanced Lifestyles National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum Imagine More Advocacy Western Australia Midland Information Debt and Legal Advocacy Service Melbourne East Disability Advocacy Queensland Advocacy Incorporated Family Advocacy Grampians Disability Advocacy Syndromes Without A Name Advocacy Tasmania Southwest Advocacy Association Victorian Rural Advocacy Network Assert 4 All Colac Otway Region Advocacy Service Disability Information and Advocacy Service Gipplsland Disability Advocacy Community Resource Unit AED Legal Centre ANTaR Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health People with Disabilities Western Australia Association for Children with Disability Tasmania Association for Children with a Disability Victoria All Means All Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education Southern Disability Advocacy Rights Information and Advocacy Centre Regional Disability Advocacy Service Youth Disability Advocacy Service National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Spinal Cord Injuries Australia Barwon Disability Resource Council North East Citizen Advocacy Julia Farr Youth Leadership Plus VALID Women with Disabilities Victoria Citizens Advocacy Perth West Speakout Advocacy Developmental Disability WA Women with Disabilities ACT Council for Intellectual Disability Citizen Advocacy Sunbury South Australian Council on Intellectual Disability Parent to Parent Queensland People with Disabilities ACT Aspergers Victoria Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of South Australia Disability Advocacy Victoria
