COVID-19 and people with disability in Australia - Statement of Concern #1

<p>Australians with disability are a vulnerable population in the COVID-19 pandemic because they are at elevated risk of morbidity and death due to underlying health conditions. This is frightening because:</p><ul><li>The <em>health sector </em>is under-prepared to meet the urgent health care needs of people with disability. <br><br></li><li>The<em> disability service sector </em>will not be able to meet the care needs of people with disability.</li></ul> <p><br></p><p>We recommend that governments take immediate steps including:</p><p><b><br></b></p><p><b>Rapidly scale up the health care sector’s capacity to care for</b><b> </b><b>people with disabilities</b></p><p><b><br></b></p><p><b>Rapidly increase capacity of the disability care workforce to respond to the pandemic and its consequences. The government must ensure that disability services stay open otherwise the lives of people with disabilities are at risk. </b></p><p><b><br></b></p><p><b>There is a need for action at the highest levels of government, across the National Disability Insurance Agency and National Quality and Safeguards Commission to prevent the deaths of people with disability in the coming weeks and months.</b></p><p>Statement of Concern #1 - COVID-19 and People with Disability in Australia, 16 March 2020.<br><br><b>Further information</b><br><br>https://credh.org.au/<br><br>https://credh.org.au/projects/covid-19-and-people-with-disability-in-australia/<br><br></p><p><br></p>