Blog: Bupa Therapy – our purpose got real today
When Australia’s biggest health reform since Medicare came alive, we knew we could make a difference for people living with disabilities and their carers, writes Bupa's head of Corporate Affairs, Dieter Lehmann.
Purpose. Easy to say, much harder to prove.
But when Australia’s biggest health reform since Medicare came alive in the middle of last year, we knew we could make a seriously positive difference for people living with disabilities and their often selfless carers.
We knew the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) would more than double the number of Australians receiving funding for their health and care by around 2020. We also knew that many people who didn’t, or will never qualify for NDIS funding, were also demanding better standards of care.
So, if Bupa’s purpose is about helping people live Longer, Healthier, Happier Lives, then this was surely a no brainer.
So started the Bupa Therapy journey.
Hundreds of hours of interviews, more than 5000 information and data points from people with disability, their carers and clinicians and some brilliant advice from our consultants Kristy Trajcevski and Dale Sheppard were critical in developing this new service.
Today, purpose got real and we opened Bupa Therapy. Located in Abbotsford St, West Melbourne, Victoria, it will initially deliver physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology to adults in a co-ordinated manner.
It’s one of the few facilities in Australia to offer this integrated approach under one roof. It’s what people who need this these types of care told us to do. The one-stop therapy experience caters for those with neurophysiological conditions including, but not limited to:
- Acquired brain injury & disorders
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis
- Motor neuron disease
- Cerebral palsy
- Parkinson’s disease
It has a dedicated welcome area, several treatment rooms and a gymnasium for individual and group therapy. It will also cater for carers and other family members, with lounges, wifi, internet terminals, refreshment areas, good old daytime telly and desk space if work needs to be done. Carers need a break too – probably more than anyone else on earth!
So on days where your purpose gets very real, I think it’s OK to feel proud of having a small hand in it.
This article was first published on LinkedIn
Get to know some of Bupa Therapy's experienced clinicians, Physiotherpist Vicky Cook, Occupational Therapist Jacelyn Goh and Speech Pathologist Kirsten Toll.
Up next: Dear Carers, you are not invisible.
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