Unapei calls for improved accessibility in healthcare system

Inclusion Europe member Unapei has published a white paper on the accessibility of the French healthcare system for people with intellectual disabilities. The document follows a troubling report by the Public Health Authority (Haute Autorité de Santé) on delays or failures to facilitate appropriate care to people with intellectual disabilities.

Breaches in the healthcare process are often due to insufficient and poorly coordinated provision of healthcare (both qualitative and quantitative), made worse by a breakdown in communication between practitioners, an underdeveloped system of support staff, and overarching counterproductive bureaucracy. The breaches are exacerbated exponentially with an increase in age and the severity of the patient’s communication difficulties.

The proposals made by the Unapei paper concern all actors and structures in the healthcare system. They more specifically make reference to the training of professionals in the health and socio-medical sectors, the participation and involvement  of the recipient of care, the coordination between different actors providing care, the organisation of hospital structures, the support of private practitioners and the role of socio-medical services and establishments in the healthcare process.

For more information about the Unapei white paper, please follow this link.

Unapei is the first federation of French associations representing the rights and interests of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families. Created in 1960, it brings together 550 associations of volunteers, parents and friends, who believe that all persons with intellectual disabilities should have access to equal opportunities and be integrated in society.