Whaikaha CAT update April 2024

Kia ora Visitor,

Thank you to all of you who took the time to reach out directly and/or completed the survey regarding Whaikaha's 18 March 2024 announcement impacting our CAT1 and CAT2 work.

We met with representatives from Whaikaha on your behalfon 15th April and can now share the following updates with you.

Clarifications regarding P1 versus P2:

Priority one:

Whaikaha clarified that P1 is appropriate for situations in which a person currently does not have an effective way to meet their essential communication needs without the identified solution.

Examples of such needs could include, but are not limited to:

• Unable to request food, drink, or communicate other basic needs
• Unable to report pain or communicate medical symptoms
• Unmet communication needs suspected of increasing frustration, meltdowns, aggression, and/or distress. Both internalised and externalises forms of distress and anxiety can be considered, not just externalised forms of behaviour.
• Living alone and needing effective ways to communicate for safety
• Needing communication assistive technology to be safe when in the community (e.g., when using transportation, shopping, being in public spaces, etc.)

Priority two:

P2, in contrast, is appropriate for situations where a person already has an effective communication system in place, but perhaps is ready for an upgrade.

Updating your priority rating:

If this updated advice means you feel that you should update a priority rating that you already have submitted, you can email the helpdesk for support ( helpdesk@enigma.co.nz).  In the future, there will be a way for us do to this directly.

School attendence criteria

With regards to school attendance, P1 is not solely for physical attendance, but also applies to situations in which someone is unable to communicate effectively when engaged in education. There has been no change to the expectation that assistive technology to access the curriculum remains the responsibility of the Ministry of Education’s AT processes.

CAT1 and CAT2 applications can be submitted under P1 if the person is unable to communicate (without the recommended CAT solution) basic needs at school such as asking for help, answering questions, communicating with peers and staff, and requesting food/drink/basic needs.

This guidance is not specific to any one educational setting (e.g., ECE, primary, secondary, home school, health school, Te Kura etc are all considered educational settings).

Replacement equipment:

Like for like:

“Equipment that is currently used by an individual and continues to meet their needs, though deemed beyond economic repair by Enable or Accessable contractors and requiring a ‘like for like’ replacement, is considered priority one and does not require entry via the EMS portal. Any band 2-3 service requests, following reassessment resulting in an alternate or new solution, require prioritisation, including accessories over $1k. All band 1 equipment and accessories under $1k continues as per usual process (i.e. EMS portal is not required).”

Clarification regarding monitoring ratio of P1:P2 applications:

Whaikaha also confirmed that sole practitioners and those who do not have access to an internal review system can contact Whaikaha directly as described below:

“Assessors working in remote areas or alone can use either the clinical leader review option (for example, through a supervision process) or they can monitor their own P1/P2s against the national averages. Please contact Whaikaha if you require the latter option.”

If you do not receive a reply, they would like to know as these systems are up and running now.

Finding out the national averages:

You can view the report in the EMS portal to see the average national P1:P2 ratio, including a breakdown that is specific to CAT1 and CAT2.

Currently Whaikaha is expecting general alignment with the total national figures (e.g. 76% and 15.9%), although they are aware that some of us may have caseloads that differ. They also noted that for specialised services like us, it may be helpful to compare to the CAT categories.

Additional information is available publicly here https://www.whaikaha.govt.nz/for-service-providers/equipment-and-modification-services and we have attached yesterday's updated guidelines as well.

Additional questions:

Please be in touch with us via admin@atanz.org.nz with the subject line “Whaikaha updates” if you have additional questions and ATANZ can seek further clarification on your collective behalf. You can also email Whaikaha directly at contact@whaikaha.govt.nz

We have also been invited to meet again later this year if we need additional clarification or have other areas of feedback for Whaikaha and the EMS.