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Improving choice, quality and service delivery for the changing needs of people living with an ABI is the central theme for this year’s National Acquired Brain Injury Conference which is taking place on the 8 – 9 November 2016 at the Royal Rehab, Ryde, Sydney. In the lead up to this event, we were delighted to chat with icare about their goal and initiatives in providing person-centred insurance services and long term care for people with severe brain injuries.
Can you tell us about the structure and purpose of icare?
icare (Insurance & Care NSW) was established on 1 September 2015 when it was created under the State Insurance and Care Governance Act 2015. The change meant that all the government’s existing disparate insurance and care schemes came together for the first time as a single Public Financial Enterprise with an independent Board of Directors.
We are a centre of excellence for insurance and care needs, and have the opportunity to develop icare into a truly unique organisation – one that puts the customer at the heart of its endeavours.
Our goal is to protect, insure and care for the people, businesses and assets that make NSW great. It is our ambition to change the way people think about insurance and care by providing world-class services to people, businesses and communities through financially sustainable schemes.
This mindset informs our ‘DNA’ of ‘Commercial Mind, Social Heart’ – this philosophy is now a part of our brand and resonates across our employees as well as the wider community. As a social insurer, we’ll be there for people, not for profit.
icare CEO Vivek Bhatia recently commented that: “Our goal is to put the customer at the centre of everything we do”. How does icare specifically support people with an acquired brain injury?
icare’s mission is to be a centre of excellence for providing person-centred insurance services and long term care, helping people return to work and improving their quality of life outcomes.
70% of participants in icare lifetime care & Support Scheme have a severe brain injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident. For most people, the impact of the brain injury on their day to day life reduces over time due to the process of recovery and as they develop skills to adjust to cognitive problems they now face.
icare lifetime care works with the brain injury rehabilitation network of clinicians to assist with this recovery and to make sure they receive the services that they want and need. We also work with the individual to identify their life goals and make sure the supports required to achieve these goals are provided. For some people after their brain injury, they lead very different lives and icare lifetime care aims to provide access to what they require to be able to live a life that is meaningful to them.
What role does innovation and collaboration play in improving quality of life outcomes?
icare is focused on putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, and we believe delivering world-class healthcare treatments is fundamental for the recovery of injured workers and road users.
icare is proud to have recently appointed pre-eminent health industry leaders and medical practitioners Dr Leon Clarke, Chief Medical Advisor, and Dr Christopher Colquhoun, Chief Medical Officer, to drive research and investment in the right healthcare and medical infrastructure, services and partnerships to drive an optimal care model. This will ensure we are embedding the latest global research and advancements into icare’s leading-edge care model, in the fast-evolving landscape of health and medicine.
icare lifetime care works proactively with participants to set goals and engage services to meet their specific needs, partnering with skilled service providers to offer high-quality treatment and care. icare recognises participants’ needs will change over time and ensures that appropriate services are provided at the right time.
In addition, icare lifetime care funds programs and research to help injured people and their families deal with the impact of traumatic injury. It also explores the effectiveness of different rehabilitation methods and provides health professionals with best-practice information.
The Living with Attendant Care was recently launched at the Royal Rehab in Sydney. What services does it provide?
icare lifetime care’s Living with Attendant Care website is a one-stop-shop for people with a severe brain or spinal cord injury and their families, providing them with vital information on attendant care. It’s a rich information resource for participants and families to help them understand what the impact of having carers in their homes is like and offers advice for how to manage this difficult process. It also provides real-life examples of people’s experiences living with attendant care and tips from industry experts.
icare’s been very proactive is reducing any stigma associated with an acquired brain injury. What are some of the strategies used is promoting a positive image?
We promote the person’s strengths and assist them to focus on what things they want to do that are important to them. People with brain injury have goals and dreams that are no different to people without brain injury. Due to their brain injury they may be forced to change their life goals or it may take longer to do things. They may require support to do things or they may have to do things differently than they did previously.
It is important that they still have hopes for their future and their icare lifetime care “My Plan”, our new participant-centred planning process rolled out through 2016, helps them to keep that hope alive and celebrate the successes as they achieve their goals.
We’re delighted to have icare NSW support this year’s Annual National Acquired Brain Injury Conference which is taking place on the 8 – 9 November 2016 at the Royal Rehab, Ryde, Sydney.
