Branch Psychologists - numbers, qualifications job description
DE Sheridan made this Official Information request to Accident Compensation Corporation
The request was partially successful.
From: DE Sheridan
Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,
Could you please provide the following information:
1. Please indicate how many Branch, RIS or Corporate or other Psychologists ACC has had each year for the past 5 years (by Branch or unit, including RIS or Corporate positions?)
2. What qualifications are they required to have and how does ACC insure they are kept up to date?
3. What are the job descriptions for each different type of psychologist's job?
4. What are their pay rates?
5. Have psychologists ever been used by RIS Units, Branches, ACC government services, or ACC legal services to advise ACC staff on how to maximize psychological pressure on claimants? If so, how have they been used; and is this practice on-going?
Yours faithfully,
DE Sheridan
From: Claire Stearne
Accident Compensation Corporation
Dear DE Sheridan
Please find attached an acknowledgement of your request for information
from ACC.
Regards,
Claire Stearne
Claire Stearne, Acting Team Manager, ACC
ACC / Government Services / Justice Centre - Level 7
PO Box 242 / Wellington 6011 / New Zealand / [1]www.acc.co.nz
ACC cares about the environment – please don’t print this email
unless it is really necessary. Thank you.
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From: Lisa White
Accident Compensation Corporation
Dear DE Sheridan
Please find attached a letter regarding your Official Information Act
request of 7 July 2014.
Kind regards,
Lisa White,
Senior Advisor, Government Services
Justice Centre - Level 7 PO Box 242 / Wellington 6011
[1]www.acc.co.nz
ACC cares about the environment – please don’t print this email
unless it is really necessary. Thank you.
From: Lisa White
Sent: Wednesday, 30 July 2014 12:27 p.m.
To: Lisa White
Subject: Message from CORMFD0080
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From: Lisa White
Accident Compensation Corporation
Dear D E Sheridan
Please find attached a response to your Official Information Act request
of 10 July 2014.
Kind regards,
Lisa White,
Senior Advisor, Government Services
Justice Centre - Level 7 PO Box 242 / Wellington 6011
[1]www.acc.co.nz
ACC cares about the environment – please don’t print this email
unless it is really necessary. Thank you.
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information.
If you believe you have received this email in error, please advise us
immediately by
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From: Lisa White
Accident Compensation Corporation
Please find attached the Position Description associated with this OIA.
Kind regards
Lisa White,
Senior Advisor, Government Services
Justice Centre - Level 7 PO Box 242 / Wellington 6011
[1]www.acc.co.nz
ACC cares about the environment – please don’t print this email
unless it is really necessary. Thank you.
From: Lisa White
Sent: Tuesday, 12 August 2014 10:57 a.m.
To: '[OIA #1788 email]'
Subject: Official Information Act request - D E Sheridan
Dear D E Sheridan
Please find attached a response to your Official Information Act request
of 10 July 2014.
Kind regards,
Lisa White,
Senior Advisor, Government Services
Justice Centre - Level 7 PO Box 242 / Wellington 6011
[2]www.acc.co.nz
ACC cares about the environment – please don’t print this email
unless it is really necessary. Thank you.
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Disclaimer:
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information.
If you believe you have received this email in error, please advise us
immediately by
return email or telephone and then delete this email together with all
attachments.
If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorised to use or
copy this message
or any attachments or disclose the contents to any other person. "
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2. http://www.acc.co.nz/
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DE Sheridan left an annotation ()
This query through FYI only provided the job description of Branch Advisory Psychologists - nothing else.
But I had sent another request, and this is what I learned (I'd attach it here if I knew how):
I was told:
1. The position of Branch Advisory Psychologist started in 2010.
(I'd asked for the distribution between Branches, RIS units and Corporate - but wasn't given this.)
Numbers of Branch Advisory Psychologists:
2010 - 9 (5.5 FTE)
2011 - 11 (6.5 FTE)
2012 - 17 (9.9 FTE)
2013 - 18 (11.0 FTE)
2014 - 19 (11.3 FTE)
2. Occupational Therapists employed by ACC
NIL
3. These Psychologists are encouraged to maintain a clinical practice. (I didn't think to ask whether this involved also assessing ACC claimants "privately" for ACC.)
4. Their salary range is: $118,226 - $166,906 - so it's fair to suspect they don't want anything to cause them to lose their jobs.
5. I was told that psychologists are not been used by RIS units, Branches, ACC government services or ACC legal services to specifically advise ACC on how to put maximum psychological pressure on claimants.
I call your attention to the job descriptions:
Purpose:
The purpose of the Branch Medical Advisory position is to:
1. provide a resource to the branches on the determination of mental injury cover; [surely there aren't so many mental injury claims that it warrants paying 19 psychologists between $118,000 - $166,000 per year. Why isn't this done independently in a non-partisan manner]
2. the early identity of psychological barriers to rehabilitation;
[surely something Case Managers and Branch Medical Advisors could do];
3. recommend appropriate appropriate interventions and direction in rehabilitation
[just what do Case Managers and Branch medical Advisors do?]
4. the training of claims management staff in psychological aspects of physical injury and sensitive claims
[and this requires 19 psychologists paid between $118,000+ to $166,000+ per year.]
Link to this