Extra funding welcome

An editorial from the Otago Daily Times

Announcement of increased funding for sexual violence support services in next week's Budget, and full ACC funding of counselling for victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault, are welcome progress in this highly sensitive and increasingly pressured area.
Last Monday, the Accident Compensation Corporation announced it would fully fund sexual abuse victims' counselling as part of an overhaul of its sensitive claims systems next year. The changes would give claimants access to 48 therapy sessions over 12 months, more discretion to choose a counsellor, allow family members or support people to be included in treatment, and fund therapists to travel to isolated areas.
In a pre-Budget announcement on Wednesday, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said the Government would allocate $10.4 million for sexual violence services during the next two years, saying that the sector required extra resourcing.
It clearly does. ACC is expecting an increase in sensitive claims of up to 10% each year until 2020 as a result of the reduced stigma around the reporting of sexual abuse. Police have already put the recent increase in sexual crime statistics (which are bucking the overall falling crime rate) down to increased reporting, rather than increased abuse.
It is pleasing the topic is coming out of the shadows. Worldwide, the message now is (thankfully) that survivors will be listened to when they speak out, that sexual abuse and assault is unacceptable and perpetrators can no longer hide. That reduces the stigma for victims and gives them confidence in speaking out.
But when they do, as well as justice, they often need considerable practical, financial and emotional support - in the form of counselling - to allow them to work through the abuse and hopefully enable them to live their lives as fully as possible.
Cuts to counselling have always been about "cost", but leaving survivors to deal with the repercussions of abuse by themselves is far more costly in the long term. Those who have had little or no support, and who may have endured childhood and/or long-term abuse, are plagued by issues of shame, blame, anger, loss, betrayal, trust, self-confidence and self-loathing, which may affect their daily lives and relationships, and can lead to alcohol and/or substance abuse and mental illness.
All of that costs the health system, and comes at a huge personal cost to individuals, families and communities. Frontline support services and longer-term counselling is essential.
The increased Government funding is therefore welcome, but the fanfare is not.
It must be remembered the Government's drastic and wide-ranging ACC cuts to ''sensitive claims'' funding, including counselling services, in 2009, caused consternation among service providers and survivors and led to drastically reduced numbers of claims being accepted. The corporation backed down a year later, after significant pressure, and reinstated 16 hours of counselling funding.
An independent panel reviewed ACC's sensitive claims clinical pathway in 2010 and made 14 recommendations, but a 2012 independent review by Dr Barbara Disley found there was still much progress to be made towards fully implementing all the recommendations.
The ACC, as a Crown entity, is charged with implementing the Accident Compensation Act 2001 and its role is ''to provide treatment, care and services for anyone who is injured in New Zealand'' with the view of enabling them to return to the workforce. There is undoubtedly huge pressure on the agency. ACC figures show in the 2012-13 year, it accepted 1.7 million new claims and spent more than $2 billion on claims and another $2 billion on hospital treatment and surgery, care and support, and compensation for people unable to work.
While the Government's tough stance on crime has paid off in some areas, it is important to remember there are still victims of crime in many areas who may face mental as well as physical injuries as a result of the trauma they have endured.
Survivors should not have to fight for support in such a sensitive area as sexual abuse, in which the smallest hurdle might put them off seeking life-changing help.

© Allied Press Ltd 2014

http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/editorial/301056/extra-funding-welcome

ACC to cover rape therapy costs in full

An article from the New Zealand Herald by Isaac Davison

ACC will pay for every cent of rape victims' counselling as part of a major overhaul of its sensitive claims system later this year.
The corporation is bracing for a significant increase in the number of sensitive claims in the next six years as the stigma around sexual violence is increasingly broken down in New Zealand.
In response, it was planning an expanded, more flexible service which took into account the sensitivity, length of time, and cost of treating rape-related trauma. These changes were based on the recommendations of a highly critical independent review in 2010.
Sexual violence services are under scrutiny in New Zealand following the "Roast Busters" scandal and temporary closure of some frontline clinics because of funding shortfalls. ACC received 5055 new sensitive claims last year, and is expecting a 10 per cent increase in claims each year until 2020.
ACC strategy manager for sexual violence Emma Powell said the overhaul would give victims more time, funding and choice.
"We are no longer going to be approving 10 counselling sessions here, or 10 there, we are actually saying 'Here's 12 months, you and your therapists ... build a programme around the person's needs ... and that's about providing a much more holistic approach'.
"We're throwing away the calendar and throwing away the clock and just letting people focus on getting better."
The cost of the upgrade cannot yet be revealed, but it was expected to require a doubling of funding. ACC spent around $45 million on sensitive claims in 2012/13.
At present, ACC funded counselling for rape victims but only up to $80 for a one-hour session. Counsellors often charged a "top-up", or additional fee of up to $90.
Ms Powell said the corporation was concerned that this cost was putting people off a crucial service. Claimants were taking an average of 7.8 sessions despite being entitled to 16 sessions, or more depending on their circumstances.
Under the new service, ACC would cover the full cost of the sessions. The overhaul would also allow victims to shop around for a therapist who they felt comfortable with.
Therapists, psychologists or psychotherapists would be given travel funding to allow them to reach people in isolated regions.
ACC and its partner agencies planned to increasingly include family members or support people during the recovery process, though it was not yet planning to extend its services to perpetrators.
At present, adult sexual abusers can get funded treatment only if they are in the criminal justice system. This meant there was a gap in the system because many victims knew their abusers and did not want to place charges, but wanted them to get treatment.
This problem was raised at a wide-ranging Parliamentary inquiry into specialist sexual violence services. The inquiry has been told of long waits for specialist services, uncertainty about continued funding, and the struggle to help Maori, rural, transgender or intersex clients.

Funding changes
*All counselling sessions for sensitive claims will be fully funded.
*Claimants can get access to 48 therapy sessions over 12 months, as well as other treatment.
*Victims can shop around for a counsellor they can trust.
*Family members or support people will be included in treatment where appropriate.
*Therapists will be funded for travel to allow them to visit isolated regions.

© 2014 APN New Zealand Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11245848

ACC privacy ruling welcomed for sensitive claimants

A press release from the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists

Yesterday’s District Court ruling, that the standard ACC release of information form the “ACC 167” is illegal, has been welcomed by psychotherapists and clinicians working with sexual abuse survivors.
“The Disley Independent Clincial review of the ACC’s treatment of sensitive claimants, undertaken in 2010, outlined serious concerns about this form and the ACC’s approach to the gathering of health information. This decision is welcomed, but long overdue” says Kyle MacDonald, New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists Public Issues spokesperson.
The Disley review included a legal opinion, which noted concerns about the ACC 167, and explained the limitations that apply to the collection of health information. Those working with all ACC claimants, and specifically in the sexual violence sector, have long expressed these concerns.
“We’ve known for a long time that this form, and its implementation, has caused specific problems for sensitive claimants” says Kyle MacDonald, “it has been common practice for the ACC to request ALL of a claimants GP or Mental health notes, and not accept a health professional acting in accordance with the Privacy act by providing only those parts of the record relevant to the claim. Furthermore the ACC have quite explicitly declined to advance a claim if individuals refuse to sign the waiver due to quite legitimate privacy concerns.”
This has set up a perception that ACC have gone on “fishing expeditions” for reasons to decline claims, rather than sticking to the limits of the Privacy Act, like all other health professionals are required to do.
“Hopefully this decision allows people who have had their claim declined due
to the illegal acquisition of health information to have their claim revisited. It should also allow those who have had their claim declined due to their refusal to sign this form to also re-apply for cover and treatment.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1404/S00230/acc-privacy-ruling-welcomed-for-sensitive-claimants.htm

Privacy the year's big trivial story

An article from the New Zealand Herald by John Roughan

ACC data leak turned out to contain nothing personal.
Among the Christmas cards I get at work there is always one from the Privacy Commissioner, Marie Shroff. Invariably it contains a good visual gag. This year's features a Slane cartoon of a boy stuck with his head and upper body in a Dutch dyke and a passer-by explains to another, "The leak was worse than first thought".
I hope the irony was intended, because it's time to acknowledge that the biggest leak of the year, the one that the news kept calling a "massive privacy breach" which the commissioner had to investigate, turned out not to be very big at all.
It sounded serious when it was first reported that the personal details of thousands of ACC claimants had been accidentally emailed to one unnamed claimant.Among them were said to be victims of sexual offences.
Then someone on the side of ACC leaked back, naming the recipient and letting it be known she had turned up with a supporter, none other than National insider Michelle Boag, for a meeting where it was pointedly mentioned to her claim handlers that she was holding information she shouldn't have.
After that, the story took off in all directions, not all of them connected to the email accident. Nick Smith had to resign, there was palace intrigue over who leaked a memo from Boag to ACC minister, Judith Collins, who sued two MPs for suggesting it was her.
Grimly, she replaced ACC's chairman, deputy chairman, four board members and the chief executive.
Meanwhile, Labour and the Greens made a sustained attack on ACC's "culture", not just its carelessness with email but its determination to check all claims rigorously and get the injured back to work quickly. The story took on so many dimensions and ran for so long that the Privacy Commissioner's investigation of the original data leak became little more than a footnote.
But there was nothing minimal about her investigation. She appointed an independent review team of KPMG business consultants and a Melbourne company, Information Integrity Solutions Ltd, who together really went to town. From April to August they travelled the country, conducting by their own account more than 150 interviews at ACC's head office, its sensitive claims unit, six branch offices and two service centres.
They went far beyond "client facing" staff to talk to the myriad sections of the corporation that have to see claimants' confidential information: researchers, lawyers, risk assessors, injury prevention officers, assurance services, business intelligence, actuarial people, plus the complaints investigation team.
They talked to "external stakeholders": claimants, their advocates and associates, holding a workshop with some of them. They performed "walk-throughs" of the corporation's email handling habits, compared its information security practices with those of some other organisations, and much, much more.
By the time they presented the Privacy Commissioner with their report, the country was sick of the subject and hardly anybody read it.
It ran to 102 pages. You had to read to page 99 to discover exactly what sort of confidential client information had escaped.
But finally, in the fifth appendix, there it was: a sample of the fabled spreadsheet of "personal" data. It consisted of four tables listing claimants' names (removed for the report), their claim numbers, review numbers, branch, lodgement dates, issue codes, decision dates and the like.
That was it. That is all there was.
There was nothing that could be of the slightest use or interest to anyone outside ACC. No personal details alongside the names, no injury information, nothing.
That is what all the fuss had been about.
The thing that disappointed me was that so many people had known all along that the "massive privacy breach" amounted to nothing more than this. Investigative reporters, the Privacy Commissioner, her Independent Review Team, all would have discovered the contents of the spreadsheet very quickly.
None blew the whistle. No reports that I saw looked critically at the facts at the heart of a story that kept on growing and giving. The Privacy Commissioner did not say something to restore a sense of proportion. The review team, no doubt well paid, went about its investigation as though there was a serious problem.
An accident had happened. An ACC rehabilitation officer had a monthly sheet of case reviews on his screen when he decided to respond to an email. He dragged the data aside, clicked a wrong button and unwittingly attached it to the return email.
Computers are a minefield for privacy. Accidents will happen, despite all the procedures the commissioner's expert team has laid down. It happened to Social Welfare kiosks a short time later. If the data is as indecipherable as that ACC released, it won't matter in the slightest. It was the trivial story of the year.

© 2012 APN Holdings NZ Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10855584

ACC assessments also key for sensitive claimants

A press release from the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists by Kyle MacDonald

Last night’s shocking expose on TV3’s 60 minutes showed how even “insiders” from ACC admit that a deliberate process of using medical assessors favourable to ACC has lead to a clear and dramatic increase in the “exit” of long term claimants from the ACC’s books.
This approach also continues to detrimentally affect survivors of sexual abuse and violence, or “sensitive claimants” says psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald.
“What was not widely reported with the release of the recent monitoring report of the Independent Clinical Review of the Sensitive Claims treatment pathway was how the ACC’s independent assessors are also preventing New Zealander’s accessing counselling.”
To access ongoing counselling, beyond sixteen support sessions, the client must have a cover determination report, or an external psychological assessment. This is usually conducted by an ACC appointed and contracted assessor.
“What is shocking is to me is that the report details that less than 4% of claims have been accepted based on these assessors reports, in 2011 and 2012. This is down from roughly 60% in 2008.” says MacDonald. “I believe this is further evidence of the cynical management detailed by 60 minutes. The idea that only 4 out of every hundred clients require more than four months of counselling to recover from sexual abuse and trauma makes no clinical sense.”
“It’s also clear that from the clinicians and clients I talk to that all the problems outlined with 'hatchet' assessors, outlined in last nights report also apply to long term Sensitive Claimants and the ACC’s psychological and psychiatric assessments.”
The “Monitoring Report on the Recommendations from the Independent Panel’s Review of the ACC’s Sensitive Claims Treatment Pathway: 18 months follow up” was released on the 17th of July, 2012. The quoted statistics can be found on p. 29.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1209/S00048/acc-assessments-also-key-for-sensitive-claimants.htm

Privacy Commissioner urges ACC culture change

A press release from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner

The Privacy Commissioner says a culture change starting at the top of ACC is vital if further data security breaches are to be prevented.
Marie Shroff is commenting on the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of ACC Privacy and Security of Information that were released today.
The report was commissioned jointly by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and the ACC Board following the unauthorized disclosure of details of 6,748 clients.
"The review has found the breach was a genuine error and I accept that. But it also shows the error happened because of systemic weaknesses within ACC's culture, systems and processes," says Ms Shroff.
"The reviewers noted a good level of privacy awareness especially at branch level. But the review also highlights a culture that, according to stakeholder feedback to the reviewers, has at times "an almost cavalier" attitude towards its clients and to the protection of their private information.
"The review shows that information stewardship is low level and defensive and focuses on breaches and complaints rather than taking strong leadership that emphasises respect for clients and their information.
"That is not good enough particularly in this digital age. Personal information is the lifeblood of ACC and it is vital that ACC treats that information with respect - the trust of its clients and, in many respects, the success of its operations depends on it."
Ms Shroff says the report shows that ACC lacks a comprehensive strategy for protecting and managing its client information.
"This sort of data is a major business asset with associated risks that have to be managed.
"While ACC has elements of privacy protection and security, these are not up to the standard expected of a responsible public sector agency that holds highly sensitive information on a large number of people.
"Changing that is essential. And the changes, which must include a culture change, have to start right at the top."
The review recommends that an independent audit of how ACC has implemented the changes is undertaken every two years and provided to the Privacy Commissioner.
Marie Shroff welcomes the recommendation.
"It's evident from the report that a lot needs to change before public confidence in ACC can be restored. I believe it can be done, but only if ACC takes the review's findings and recommendations seriously and gives its many good and committed staff the support they need to implement the necessary changes.
"The review provides a strong set of proposals. I will closely monitor ACC's progress as it implements these changes."
Ms Shroff says the data security breach at ACC has provided a timely warning to both public and private sector organisations.
"Agencies that hold large amounts of personal information should be taking note of what has happened at ACC and learn from its mistakes. Many organisations will recognise it could just as easily be them in the headlines."

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00359/privacy-commissioner-urges-acc-culture-change.htm

Inquiry into aspects of ACC's board-level governance

A press release from the Controller and Auditor-General

In April 2012, I decided to inquire into aspects of the interaction between the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and one of its claimants, Bronwyn Pullar. I wanted to know whether the ACC Board had policies and procedures for managing interaction between Board members and individual claimants who might be known to them. I wanted to be sure that a claimant could not gain any advantage by approaching a Board member.
My inquiry found no evidence that Ms Pullar's approach to one of ACC's Board members affected her claim to ACC. However, the Board had no formal policy to guide Board members on communication with individual claimants, a deficiency it is rectifying. The handling of the matter depended on the long experience in governance of ACC's Chairman and Deputy Chairman, who were the two Board members concerned.
Of greater concern was ACC's failure to recognise Ms Pullar's wider allegations of illegality and fraud as risks to the organisation. I have no view as to whether there is any justification to the allegations, because that was not the subject of my inquiry. However, a public entity should always take allegations that threaten public trust in the organisation seriously. ACC is one of New Zealand's largest public entities and an important part of public services for New Zealanders.
My inquiry team concluded that ACC management and the Board members concerned failed to appreciate the risk that those allegations presented. It seems that the Board and ACC management were so focused on the appropriate separation of governance and operational matters that they did not recognise these issues as possible symptoms of systemic failure.
The events that gave rise to my inquiry occurred when the Board was relatively new and there was extensive change in senior management. Change in ACC will continue, because it will have a new Chairperson, several new Board members, and a new chief executive in the next few months. I consider that a new Board member, even if that person is an experienced director, will take two to three years to understand key actuarial and financial aspects of ACC, as well as its culture.
I asked my Deputy, Phillippa Smith, to carry out my inquiry. Because my inquiry concerned issues of practical governance, we engaged James Ogden, an experienced company director, to advise her on those matters. I am grateful to Mr Ogden for his assistance. I also thank the ACC personnel we interviewed and Ms Pullar, for their assistance with my inquiry.

accboardlevelgovernance.pdf

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00357/inquiry-into-aspects-of-accs-board-level-governance.htm

ACC chair on independent review of ACC privacy

A press release from ACC by Paula Rebstock

ACC and the Board want to thank the authors for the work they have done and the considered way they have presented the findings.
We will be implementing the recommendations made in full.
On behalf of the Board and ACC, I undertake that we will respond to the challenge before us.
ACC has a clear sense of purpose which is to help individuals, communities and businesses return to independence after accidents. The events over the last six months have raised profound questions about our management of information.
ACC must show customers and stakeholders that change is occurring, that we are responding quickly and that we can demonstrate that people’s personal information is being treated with the care and respect it deserves.
We need processes that help minimise errors with safeguards to provide checks and back-ups. If something does go wrong, we must have systems to respond quickly and appropriately, and just as importantly, we need to find out what went wrong so we can try to prevent it happening again.
The responsibility for this sits with the Board and Management of ACC to provide our people with the environment, tools and processes they need to manage information appropriately.
The review outlines seven broad areas for improving systems and processes with a series of detailed recommendations under each. Just as important, we need strong leadership, the right culture and unquestionable commitment to privacy – and that starts with the Board.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Auditor General and the Inquiry Report that was released today into aspects of ACC’s Board-level governance following the breach.
The OAG report recognises the critical importance of having clear and detailed protocols for dealing with communication between Board members and clients.
We accept the conclusions and will incorporate all the OAG recommendations to ensure our practices, training and Governance Manual underpin and support sound governance practice. This includes how the Board and management address any allegations of improper conduct.
The Board is clear about its responsibility and has undertaken to implement the measures in the Auditor General’s report.
Both the Independent Review of ACC and the Auditor General’s report will form part of a programme of work against which ACC can be measured.
We have put in place a structure to lead this work, and we will engage external specialist advice to help plan and prioritise the work ahead of us.
ACC will work closely with the Privacy Commissioner to measure and monitor progress on implementing the recommendations which include regular public reporting of results.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00352/acc-chair-on-independent-review-of-acc-privacy.htm

Independent review of ACC privacy and information security

A press release from KPMG by the Independent Review Team

A review of the Privacy and Security of Information at the Accident Compensation Corporation was released by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and ACC’s Board today following a comprehensive review by an Independent Review Team comprising KPMG and Information Integrity Solutions Pty Limited.
The review examined the circumstances relating to a major data breach involving the inadvertent release of personal details of 6,748 ACC clients, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of ACC’s privacy and security policies and practices.
“Information is arguably the most critical asset in any organisation today. The challenge of protecting personal information has never been greater.” says Malcolm Crompton, former Australian Privacy Commissioner and Managing Director of Information Integrity Solutions Pty Limited. “While ACC has suffered a significant data breach, other organisations, both public and private, could face the same.”
The Independent Review Team concluded that the breach that occurred was a genuine human error, but that such an error was more likely to occur because of systemic weaknesses within ACC’s culture, systems and processes. ACC’s subsequent response process could also have been better if appropriate policies, practices, escalation protocols and the right culture were in place to allow for transparency of breach handling at the appropriate levels, in an appropriate manner.
The Recommendations of the Review Team are comprehensive:

• ACC needs to put in place clear policies that create a positive privacy mindset as part of rebuilding customer trust and establishing a ‘firm but also seen as fair’ image in the minds of the public.
• Strengthen Board governance of personal information management.
• Strengthen privacy leadership and strategy.
• Enhance its privacy programme.
• Strengthen the organisational culture.
• Strengthen privacy accountability.
• Review and update business processes and systems.
• Provide additional resources to clear backlogs on privacy related processes.

KPMG Partner Souella Cumming commented that “An organisation’s data needs to be protected by thorough and effective risk mitigation strategies to the same or higher levels as other vital assets. Without these strategies in place, the organisation is at risk of significant reputational damage.”
Malcolm Crompton and Souella Cumming noted “We emphasise the significance of a culture and environment where personal information is valued. This must be supported by an approach to compliance with the privacy principles that is embedded within governance, leadership, business processes and systems.”
This forms the basis of the recommendations in the report of the Independent Review Team.

Independent_Review_of_ACCs_Privacy_and_Security_of_Information__August_2012.pdf

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00351/independent-review-of-acc-privacy-and-information-security.htm

Mixed results in sensitive claims survey

An article from NZ Doctor by Katie Marriner

A survey of ACC sensitive claims providers generated mixed responses on how recommendations from a report to improve the service have been implemented.
Respondents were surveyed in 2010 on the 14 recommendations proposed in an independent review of the sensitive claims pathway conducted by former mental health commissioner Barbara Disley (New Zealand Doctor, 22 September 2010).
When asked how "client-centred" ACC's sensitive claims communications were at the time of the survey compared to 18 months before, 83 per cent of respondents thought they were either much better, better or somewhat better.
Most people (41 per cent) thought the 16 hours of support sessions for certain claimants "definitely" improved access for claimants in the early stage of their claim.
But more than half (55 per cent) of respondents thought ACC was not applying the definition of "mental injury" using a range of assessment tools which was the purpose of recommendation three.
Most respondents (34 per cent) said on-going professional development is the most important thing ACC could do to improve the quality of the service.
Of the 188 people that responded to the survey, most (36 per cent) were counsellors. Psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists were among the other respondents.
All of the survey results are available here.

http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2012/august-2012/20/mixed-results-in-sensitive-claims-survey.aspx

ACC sensitive claims provider survey results

An article from ACC

The results of the ACC Sensitive Claims Provider Survey on progress towards implementing the recommendations of the 2010 independent review of the sensitive claims clinical pathway are now available:

ACC Sensitive Claims Provider Survey Results (PDF 214K)

Thank you to all those providers who took the time to complete the survey.

http://www.acc.co.nz/news/WPC113455

Problem solved

A blog post from Off the Couch by Kyle MacDonald

In breaking news today the National Government has responded enthusiastically to the Dr. Barbara Disley authored 18 month monitoring report on the ACC’s Sensitive Claims treatment pathway calling it “a triumph of policy over reason.”
New details revealed by the report show that in 2008, claims accepted and therefore the level of PTSD as a result of sexual abuse and assault was diagnosed by the ACC’s assessors was at a whopping 60%.
However since the National led Government’s change of direction at the ACC the percentage of claims accepted dropped dramatically to 40% in 2009; 13% in 2010; 3.5% in 2011 and thus far in 2012 just 3.6%.

Click here to read the rest of this post.

http://psychotherapy.org.nz/problem-solved/

ACC sex-abuse claims down by 36%

A news report from Radio New Zealand

An independent review of ACC, the second in 18 months, has found the number of sex-abuse claims lodged has fallen by 36% since 2008.
The review also found that only 3.6% of sensitive claims were accepted in 2011, down from 60% in 2008, when National took office. The review says ACC needs to be sure the assessment process is not deterring people from seeking help.
Lawyer John Miller, who specialises in ACC cases, says the fall in claims suggests people have lost confidence in the system.
ACC has acknowledged it has more work to do to implement the recommendations of a review into its handling of sensitive claims. Claims management general manager Denise Cosgrove acknowledges significant change is needed at the corporation and it is working hard towards that. She said an 18-month action plan has been agreed on to show what work is needed and what has been implemented.

© 2012 Radio New Zealand

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/110951/acc-sex-abuse-claims-down-by-36-percent

ACC's patchy progress in sensitive claims

A report from Radio New Zealand

An independent report shows ACC has made only patchy progress in implementing the recommendations of a review into its handling of sensitive claims.

Copyright 2012 Radio New Zealand

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2525415/acc%27s-patchy-progress-in-sensitive-claims

Abuse survivors struggling to access ACC

An article from Stuff by Paloma Migone, Stacey Kirk and Danya Levy

Therapists are having to "pick up the pieces" for the adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse because they are not getting the help they need from ACC, a leading psychotherapist says.
New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists spokesman Kyle MacDonald said progress made by ACC since changes to the way they handle sensitive claims were brought in has been too slow in coming.
"It’s fair to say there have improvements but it’s nowhere near enough. They’ve had 18 months to put these systems in place now."
Dr Barbara Disley yesterday released the second monitoring report of ACC’s progress on the development and implementation of 14 recommendations given by a 2010 Sensitive Claims Clinical Pathway review. She said there were concerns within the sector over the processes around independent assessment for cover.
"While there have been improvements, including the ability of the support counsellor to attend these assessments with the client, the narrow range of tools applied to determining mental injury and the limited number of professional groups who can administer these tools leads to bottle necks and delays in cover determination," she said.
"ACC needs to urgently review the assessment processes within the adult claims coverage context and broaden the range of tools and professional groups capable of undertaking these assessments."
Dr Disley said it was particularly important for adult survivors of child sexual abuse as the needs of the group were often complex and required specialist knowledge.
"A specific focus on the needs of this group needs to be now initiated," she said.
The number of clients that moved through the cover assessment process was low, falling dramatically from 5919 in 2007 to 235 last year.
Dr MacDonald said that was a "horrible number".
“This is clear evidence that the ACC’s policies are still failing New Zealanders and survivors of sexual abuse. And it’s worth remembering this report pre-dates the privacy breach of over 6000 ACC claimants, and subsequent events.”
Dr MacDonald, who sits on the Sensitive Claims Advisory Group, which ACC regularly meets, said the low number of successful claims was a direct result of the changes.
"This report demonstrates how victims of sexual abuse and assault are still struggling to access the support they are entitled to as a direct result of the National Government-led cost cutting drive in 2009. The fallout of this ill-informed policy is still being felt."
Among the changes that resulted four months later was a rule that new claimants and people waiting for a decision on whether they qualified for treatment could get 16 hours "initial support". These 16 free sessions have to be undertaken by an independent, but ACC appointed, assessor.
"The idea of going to talk to a complete stranger is sometimes one of the worst thoughts imaginable for our clients, and they have to go in there and open up to someone they barely know about some of the most traumatic experiences from their past," Dr MacDonald said.
He said clients were simply choosing not to go through with it.
"I think it was probably something that many psychotherapists and clinicians were expecting when the changes came into play. We’re essentially trying to pick up the pieces from an idea that was theirs in the first place."
The report said ACC urgently needed to review its assessment process for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse with mental injury. In the report, Dr Disley also said Maori must be given priority as progress in that area had been slower than expected.
However, the process for children and adolescents in relation to accessing immediate support and moving through the cover process had improved. Overall, Dr Disley found ACC had made "excellent progress" implementing one recommendation and good progress on another six.
"There’s still work to be done in some areas," she said.
Greens ACC spokesman Kevin Hague said the Government and ACC had created a culture of "severe disentitlement" when it came to sensitive claims. ACC was purposely making it harder for clients to get their claims accepted following evidence released by the Greens showing ACC staff were paid bonuses for cutting claimants from the ACC books, he said.
ACC Minister Judith Collins said there had been progress on all but one recommendation but there was still more work for ACC to do.
"Obviously not everything that has been recommended has been completed to the level it should have been. I expect most of them will be completed in the next 18 months."
ACC was undertaking major changes in the area of sensitive claims, 范she said.
"Ultimately they have to make sure they make those changes sustainably and right through the organisation."
The 2010 review, requested by then ACC Minister Nick Smith, made 14 recommendations, including that a process be established to independently monitor the development and implement the review’s suggestions.

© 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7297268/Abuse-survivors-struggling-to-access-ACC

ACC sex abuse processes 'need review'

An article from Stuff by Paloma Migone

ACC needs to urgently review its assessment process for adults who were abused as children and left with mental health problems, an independent report says.
Dr Barbara Disley today released the second monitoring report of ACC's progress on the development and implementation of 14 recommendations given by a 2010 Sensitive Claims Clinical Pathway review. In the report, she said there were concerns within the sector over the processes around independent assessment for cover.
"While there have been improvements including the ability of the support counsellor to attend these assessments with the client, the narrow range of tools applied to determining mental injury and the limited number of professional groups who can administer these tools leads to bottle necks and delays in cover determination," she said.
"ACC needs to urgently review the assessment processes within the adult claims coverage context and broaden the range of tools and professional groups capable of undertaking these assessments."
Disley said it was particularly important for adult survivors of child sexual abuse as the needs of the group were often complex and required specialist knowledge.
"A specific focus on the needs of this group needs to be now initiated," she said.
The number of clients that moved through the cover assessment process was low, falling dramatically since 2007 to 2011 from 5919 to 235 respectively. It could be that the recently-implemented 16 support sessions available were sufficient for some clients, but ACC needed to ensure that the process of cover determination itself was not to blame.
Disley also said Maori must be given priority as progress in that area has been slower than expected. The process for children and adolescents in relation to accessing immediate support and moving through the cover process had improved however.
Overall, Disley found ACC had made "excellent progress" implementing one recommendation and good progress on another six.
"In the 18 months since the initial, independent review, ACC has made significant changes to the way it deals with sensitive claims, and these changes have seen considerable progress achieved in many years."
However, she said: "There's still work to be done in some areas."
The 2010 review, requested by then ACC Minister Nick Smith, made 14 recommendations, including that a process be established to independently monitor the development and implementation of the review's suggestions.

© 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7292703/ACC-sex-abuse-processes-need-review

Monitoring report on sensitive claims management released

A press release by ACC

The second independent monitoring report of ACC’s management of sensitive claims, prepared for the ACC Board by Dr Barbara Disley, was released publicly today.
The report follows an interim monitoring report released in May 2011, and assesses the progress ACC has made implementing recommendations made by an independent panel, which reviewed ACC’s sensitive claims clinical pathway in 2010.
The recommendations covered a wide range of actions, from improving communications with clients, to working closely with sector representatives to refine ACC’s systems and processes, and examining ways to ensure treatment and assessment is carried out by a well qualified, fit-for-purpose workforce.
Dr Disley found ACC has made excellent progress implementing one recommendation and good progress on another six recommendations. Some progress was noted on five recommendations, with progress on one recommendation assessed as “limited”. The final recommendation, involving establishing a process to independently monitor progress, was assessed as having been “achieved”.
Dr Disley sought in-depth input from ACC to compile the report, which was also informed by:
• an online survey of clients and service providers
• interviews with service providers and representatives of professional bodies
• feedback from the Department of Child, Youth and Family.

Summing up the findings of the report, Dr Disley said “In the 18 months since the initial, independent review, ACC has made significant changes to the way it deals with sensitive claims, and these changes have seen considerable progress achieved in many areas.
“There’s still work to be done in some areas, and my report contains recommendations on how ACC can continue to make progress towards fully implementing the original recommendations made by the independent review panel.”
ACC’s General Manager of Claims Management, Denise Cosgrove, says the report provides a fair assessment of progress to date.
“We’ve worked hard to make many different types of changes aimed at improving services for our clients. I’m pleased that the report recognises the progress we’ve made in many areas. We acknowledge there’s still work to be done, but we’re committed to full implementation of the recommendations and keeping the momentum going by making ongoing improvements, and we’ll be seeking the right support to help us do that.”
Ms Cosgrove added that “a key focus for ACC moving forward is our commitment to client care and safety.”
A copy of the final report can be found here: Monitoring Report on the Implementation of the Recommendations from the Independent Panel’s Review of the ACC’s Sensitive Claims Clinical Pathway: 18 Months Follow up (PDF 525K) [Scoop copy: wpc112862.pdf]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1207/S00195/monitoring-report-on-sensitive-claims-management-released.htm

High-level panel needed to review ACC

A press release from the New Zealand Labour Party by Andrew Little

Judith Collins should appoint a high-level panel to review ACC, says Labour’s ACC spokesperson Andrew Little.
“Thorough investigation is needed into how ACC manages long term claimants, in light of revelations that incentive payments have been made to staff who can move claimants on quickly.
"We need to see a panel made up of a senior lawyer, possibly a judge, a senior medic, possibly a professor of medicine and a senior public servant to go through how decisions have been made.
"Seeing the numbers who have been removed from ACC's cover and hearing from a few of those affected, there are real questions about the legal and ethical basis for some of these decisions," Andrew Little said.
"The issues are legal, medical and administrative and must be resolved if the agency is to regain credibility.
"Some of the cases I have heard about - with multiple medical reports being called for and people being taken off earnings related compensation then put back on - make for chilling reading.
“I am afraid there is growing speculation about the good faith of some decisions. It is in the public interest, and in the Minister’s interest, for this to be resolved as soon as possible,” Andrew Little said.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1206/S00358/high-level-panel-needed-to-review-acc.htm

Horn interupts urgent ACC debate

An article from Parliament Today

Following Question Time Speaker Lockwood Smith granted an Urgent Debate on the release of the private information by ACC.
Labour Deputy Leader Grant Robertson said there were numerous National ministers and high profile National Party members involved in the release of ACC client details and related issues, and a result there was a need for a wide ranging inquiry.
Robertson said the Auditor General should do the inquiry and not the Privacy Commissioner as the work would be too narrowly focussed. His speech was interrupted by a member of the public letting off an air horn attached to a mobility scooter in the gallery.
ACC Minister Judith Collins said she felt sorry for the more than 6000 people who had their details inadvertently sent to an ACC claimant. Collins said the information released was only a spread sheet on appeals, but it was still a dreadful mistake to have been made. Collins said she first heard of the issue last week and it was proper that the Privacy Commissioner look into the issue and this would provide a full and thorough review of ACC.

http://parliamenttoday.co.nz/2012/03/horn-interupts-urgent-acc-debate/

Survey for the ACC sensitive claims 18 month review

An email from Kyle MacDonald

Dear Friends,
This email relates to a survey for ACC Sensitive Claims Providers ("Counsellors") and clients. If you are neither, I apologise for taking your time. Please feel free to read no further and delete this email.
The last step of the Independent Clinical Review of the ACC Sensitive Claims Treatment Pathway is nearly upon us, namely the 18 month follow up review. As part of that process representatives of the various professional bodies will be meeting with Barbara Disley, the review's lead author in late March to discuss how ACC are going with implementing the changes mandated in the initial review report.
As part of my role as the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists (NZAP) representative I am circulating a survey open to all Sensitive Claims treatment providers and clients. All individual responses are anonymous, and it will only take about 5-10 minutes of your time. See this link for the survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VVXGXXS
Please take the time to complete this survey, your responses are important and it will be the last chance we all have to give feedback to ACC before the review is officially completed. The survey will be closed midnight on Friday March the 9th.

Kind regards,
Kyle MacDonald
www.psychotherapy.org.nz