Page last updated: Thursday 2 October, 2008 4:52 PM

 

Another nail in the coffin...?

 

Back in May 2008 we suggested the role of Rehabworker was dying, for those of you with any doubts, an article in the 'Talking Point' section of NB (New Beacon for those who can remember) may prompt you into action. Kevin Carey - Vice Chair of RNIB - has penned his thoughts on the profession.

While we all agree the 'traditional' role of the Rehabilitation Worker is long gone and services have taken another path, we are ardent believers in the role rehabilitation serves. We can all account tales of clients we have worked with whose lives have changed for the better with our help (this is one reason we love what we do) and seen for ourselves the benefit of having a specialist involved.

Mr Carey does not appear to share our view, he states...

“The Rehabilitation system has been a failure since World War 2. Making the system more generic will make it worse, since visual impairment has low incidence compared to other difficulties and it will become low priority.”

Hmmm...OK...he then goes on...

“Life is too complicated for one rehab worker to tackle all of an individual’s problems. Rehab workers are still teaching people how to cook and climb stairs. Far more important are social skills, understanding individual’s needs and helping them handle change as they lose their sight. Rehab doesn’t deliver what makes the most difference to people’s lives – the ability to be in control.”

Wow! That's quite a statement about what a RW does - perhaps he's been taken out of context?

“The idea that the public sector will take care of us is nonsense. We must work differently. We must get rid of ‘functionalism’ in rehabilitation, scrap the role of rehabilitation workers and instead fund personal budgets so that people can buy what they need. This is the only way to go.”

That'll be 'no he hasn't' then. Where is Mr Carey getting his information from? As Vice Chairman of THE charity for people with a visual impairment does he think this is helpful? Direct Payments/Individual Budgets may well have their place - the jury's still out on the effectiveness these will have for people with a visual impairment - but scrapping the role of the RW, is that really going to improve services?

He doesn't stop at adults either...

“We need to give kids mobile phones and transport accounts. Then we need to cut down on the number of people teaching mobility and orientation as we can’t do both.”

Fantastic Mr Carey! Is this really someone who knows what they are speaking about? What possible gain to the child, their family, friends and peers, can be made from reducing orientation & mobility training for children - it's mind boggling!

This is an influential member of one of the biggest (and richest) charities in the UK spouting off about something he clearly knows nothing about. Yes, he may well understand the financial demands of service provision (don't we all), yes, there is a need to look at the role of the RW - a start would be to free them from the administrative handcuffs of 'care management' - but he obviously has no knowledge of rehabilitation, the training of RW's or the work they do.

Unfortunately, he has the ear of many 'movers and shakers', the decision makers who will ultimately forge the new path for service provision, and we believe his comments are totally irresponsible. Had Mr Carey been operating in the 'commercial' world there may well be calls for apologies or even resignation.

You can read the article in full in the October 2008 edition of NB magazine

What are your thoughts? - e-mail info@rehabworker.co.uk