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ISSC Newsletter
Mahuru/ September 2019
Nau mai Welcome
It’s finally Spring! We hope your days are beginning to be brightened by blooming flowers. In this edition:
Info & tips from the Sensitive Claims Unit
Supporting our clients in the right way, at the right time
Profile: Manu Ārahi - The Flying Doctors
Spotlight: Training for Independence for Sensitive Claims
Supplier Days 2020
Psychology Advisor Hotline
Quarterly reporting
Key Contacts
Info & tips from the Sensitive Claims Unit
PTSD versus Other Specified Trauma & Stressor Related Disorder
The criteria for PTSD are well-known and typically these can be fully demonstrated in an assessment.
When Psychology Advisors review assessments they will look to see that the assessor has clearly outlined
the ways in which the client meets the full criteria for PTSD. Assessors may be asked to consider whether
the diagnosis of “Other specified trauma and stressor related disorder” may be a closer fit for the symptom
profile in cases where there are clinically significant trauma symptoms that don’t appear to meet the full
criteria for PTSD.
Other specified trauma and stressor related disorder (OSTSRD) is a legitimate psychological disorder and
is not considered to be a ‘lesser’ diagnosis than PTSD. Having a diagnosis of PTSD does not confer any
advantages for ACC clients over a diagnosis of OSTSRD as the management of each case is looked at
independently. In similar cases where the assessor has used the DSM-IV they may be asked to consider
a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder NOS as the above principles still apply. The most important aspect of
diagnosis for ACC purposes is to ensure the most accurate fit for each individual client to aid professional
communication and support individualised treatment planning.
Adding a “safe contact” to a child’s Engagement Form
A safe contact can be added to the Engagement Form when completing the client details section. After
you fill in their details it asks:
“Is the client okay with us using the contact details entered above?” if you
click “
No” it wil open a new section where you can fil in the details of the client’s safe contact, who they
are, their relationship to the client and how we can contact them.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
Figure 1 – Client contact details
Figure 2 – Safe contact detail section
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
DHBs and clients in crisis
ACC has been working with the Ministry of Health to clarify both the purpose of the ISSC and what we do
and do not expect of our suppliers and providers. The Ministry understands that ACC does not expect
ISSC suppliers and providers to offer crisis services, does not contract with them to do so, and does not
assess contract applications in terms of the suppliers’ ability to offer crisis support, beyond supporting the
client into DHB crisis services. ACC does not have access to inpatient facilities for crisis admissions and
the providers we fund for residential care have waiting lists, and explicitly do not accept clients who are
not sufficiently stable as to be able to engage in active therapy in a therapeutic community, or who are
acutely suicidal.
Some difficulties have always occurred at the interface between ACC and DHB community mental health
and crisis services. This has often reflected a lack of knowledge and understanding by DHB mental
health staff about the role of ACC and the concept of mental injury. It is often erroneously assumed that if
a client has experienced a sexual abuse or assault event or an accident, they will be “covered” by ACC
for any mental health issues that have arisen at any time after those events. Furthermore, it has been
assumed that ACC will be able to provide care for all clients, even when the client presentation involves
acute suicidality or other acute risks to self and others.
It is useful for us to hear about your feedback on the interface between acute DHB services and ISSC to
inform further engagement with DHBs and the Ministry of Health.
How to get approval for Psychology Interns
The most up to date approval form can be found by searching “psychology intern approval form” on the
resources page on the ACC website.
Submitting reports when a client has disengaged
Please note that when a client disengages part way through the assessment process, we still require the
report – even if it is only partially completed.
Continuity sessions
ACC’s expectation is that when requested, 10 hours of continuity sessions will be approved upfront.
Police vetting
Please note that it is Suppliers’ responsibility to uphold client safety by carrying out appropriate security
screening/vetting for all employees who interact with clients – including Police vetting for Named
Providers.
Purchase order approval letters
We are sending purchase order approval letters in Word format due to it taking some time for the PDF
version of the document to be available in our client management system. The Word document can be
sent immediately, and this avoids having to go back into the claim later in the day to send the approval
letter as a PDF. This also limits the risk of purchase orders being created but letters not being sent to
Suppliers to let them know.
Adding new Providers
Please check that any potential new Providers meet all of ACC’s requirements prior to submitting an
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
application. This includes Annual Practicing Certificates, qualifications and Professional Development
requirements.
Supporting our clients in the right way, at the right time
ACC is currently changing the way we support some of our clients throughout their recovery. Clients with
sensitive claims will continue to access a single, dedicated recovery partner who is specially trained to
provide individualised recovery support.
We know that over time, needs change, and for many clients once they are in active treatment their need
for contact with ACC reduces.
For some clients, this means that their needs could be met by a small team of dedicated specialist
Recovery Assistants. In these cases, we’l have a conversation with the client and their lead provider to
ensure that they are comfortable with this approach. Having a team specialised to manage our clients will
ensure much more timely responses so that when our providers make contact, someone is available to
respond. We know having someone always available is important for our providers and our clients and
having a small team available will reduce delays in receiving approvals for services.
Our model is flexible so that we can change the levels of support for our clients in line with their changing
recovery needs. We will always have a conversation with the client and their lead provider to discuss
potential changes to their support, first.
It’s important to note that in the areas where our new way of supporting our clients has already been
introduced (Timaru, Dunedin, Alexandra, and Invercargill), a client may choose to be managed outside of
the Dunedin team. You can note this request in the free text box when you lodge the engagement form.
More information about our new way of supporting client recovery can be found on the ACC
website.
Profile: Manu Ārahi - The Flying Doctors
This quarter we are trying something new. We have had feedback that it is hard to find Assessors who
specialise in working with Māori clients and so we thought we would profile one of our Suppliers, to give
people an understanding of services that are available.
If you are noticing gaps or trends, whether in your local area or nationally, please get in touch with us to
let us know. If you would like to nominate a Supplier to be profiled, or you would like to be profiled, send
an email t
o [email address].
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
This quarter, we are focussing on Manu Ārahi - The Flying Doctors:
We provide specialist mobile Kaupapa Māori Clinical Psychology services, Research services, and
Professional Development all around Aotearoa. We work with ACC as a Supplier of Sensitive Claim
services, Psychological services and Neuropsychological Assessment services.
Our service was created to improve accessibility for Māori to these types of support.
We are happy to travel to meet the needs of Māori who are waiting for Supported Assessments, as
well as MICPI assessments, or Neuropsychological assessments.
We are an inclusive service and will also see other clients who are waiting for assessments (not only
Māori), when we are able to.
We usually have good availability, especially if we are contacted early on in the process. Please feel
welcome to contact us directly about referrals for Supported Assessments or anything else you'd like
to kōrero about, at
[email address].
S potlight: Training for Independence Services for Adults with
Sensiti
ve Claims
Each
quarter we will be informing you of services that may be relevant to some of your clients. This time,
we
will be introducing the Training for Independence for Adults with Sensitive Claims service (TI-SC).
TI -SC provides education, support, training and rehabilitation to clients to restore their independence and
ability to participate in their everyday life.
This service is for sensitive claims clients that have a covered claim and need a rehabilitation programme
tailored to their assessed needs.
Clients must be referred into this service by an ACC Recovery Team member.
A client’s Lead Provider can request that their client be referred into this service. In this case, the
provider would need to be clear about their client’s need and the desired outcomes.
Supplier Days 2020
We will be sending out invitations to the 2020 Supplier Days in November of this year. The days will be
held at approximately 15 ACC branches around the country, over February and March 2020. These will
be a chance for you to give us feedback, ask questions and hear an update on ACC’s plan for service
continuity leading up to the November 2020 contract expiry date.
On that note, we have heard concerning rumours implying that ACC is intending to move to a “Super
Supplier” model of contracting. We wish to take this opportunity to clarify that ACC has no such intention.
Please feel free to contact the Portfolio team at
[email address] if you have any further
questions or concerns relating to this, or the Supplier Days.
Psychology Advisor Hotline
The Psychology Advisor Hotline (09 354 8425) is available if you have any clinical-related questions for
us. Please keep calls to the hotline to clinical matters.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
Any questions pertaining to contractual issues such as payments, purchase orders or the number of
sessions need to be dealt with by Recovery Team Members (or Service -Co-ordinators); PAs cannot
advise on these.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
Requests for Massage Therapy - Update
Psychology Advisors (PAs) are unable to comment on requests for massage therapy, as ACC is not able
to offer this within the current contracts and doesn’t fund massage therapy either through regulations or
under contract.
Quarterly reporting
Quarterly reporting for June to August 2019 is due now. The survey link is availabl
e here.
Please note reports received after the 20th will be considered late. If there are genuine issues causing
delay then please contact your local EPM
here. Here are a few key points we’ve learned from the March to May 2019 report:
• Nationally, suppliers reported receiving 5,959 referrals over the quarter. This is a 40% increase
compared to the previous quarter, which would have been quieter due to the Christmas period.
• 49% were self-referrals from clients, 17% came from ACC, and 7% from other suppliers – similar
to the previous two quarters.
• GPs / Primary Care accounted for 6% of referrals – same as the last two quarters.
• A total of 890 clients were referred on to other services (up 20% from the last quarter), primarily
to GPs/Primary Care (24%), community services (23%), other suppliers (17%) and DHBs (12%).
• 26% of suppliers indicate they have a client waitlist – up 3% from last quarter. Clients on wait-lists
were reported to wait for an average of 13 weeks – down from 19 weeks last quarter.
• There are clients on wait-lists in about a third of all Territorial Authorities (TAs), and there are
suppliers in almost all TAs who indicate they have capacity to see clients.
We would like to stress the importance of networking with other suppliers in your area to support
clients to find a suitable provider, if there is no-one available within your own teams. Please see
findsupport.co.nz for details.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
Key Contacts
Sam Nelson – Team Manager Triage
(04) 816 5477
[email address]
Christine Garner – Team Manager Administration
(04) 494 5028
[email address]
Chelsea Brouwers – Team Manager Administration
(04) 816 5562
[email address]
Tamara Wetere – Team Manager Child & Adolescent team
(04) 8165957
[email address]
Lorraine Anderson – Team Manager Child & Adolescent team
(04) 816 7370
[email address]
Kristy Feek – Team Manager Treatment Only
(04) 816 5868
[email address]
Ruth Lloyd – Team Manager Treatment Only
(04) 816 5681
[email address]
Colin Sharp – Team Manager Adult team
(04) 816 6366
[email address]
Anna Perez – Team Manager Adult Team
(04) 816 5676
[email address]
Meredith Willis – Team Manager Adult Team
(04) 816 5941
[email address]
Jo Burrell – Team Manager Adult team
(06) 873 0252
[email address]
Lisa Tod - Team Manager Adult team
(04) 816 6527
[email address]
Tracey Hood – Team Manager Adult team
(03) 470 5730
[email address]
Stuart Knight – Team Manager Rehabilitation Team
(04) 816 7281
[email address]
Jennifer Linney – Manager, Sensitive Claims
(04) 816 7334
[email address]
For reports
[email address]
For general queries
[email address]
Psychology Advisor Hotline
09 354 8425
To update contractual and referral information please email
[email address].
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
If you need to contact the Portfolio team (including queries about the newsletter and reporting link),
please email
[email address]. If you have any queries or feedback, or ideas for what you would
like to see included in the next newsletter, we would love to hear from you.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your providers - there will be key information
for them in each edition.
