Care of handicapped
Sir,—l am astounded by the allegations made by Miss L. H. Collins (July 19) concerning the care of the intellectually handicapped. I can advise your readers that proposals for com-munity-based care of the intellectually handicapped have long been supported by the I.H.C. and the Departments of Health and Social Welfare. They are supported because it is believed that the standard of care for the intellectually handicapped can be enhanced in non-institutipnal settings. To suggest that these proposals are based on ignorance and a lack of compassion is simply ridiculous. The only objective of the move to noninstitutional care is to improve
the quality of care. It does not save the Government money and is not designed to. I am committed personally to high quality and appropriate care for the intellectually handicapped. Miss Collins has completely misunderstood what is meant by commun-ity-based care. It means developing appropriate small-scale facilities with 24-hour care for the severely disabled. It does not mean throwing people back on their families and/or on an unsuspecting unready community. To suggest that is ignorant and highly misleading.—Yours, etc., HELEN CLARK, < Minister of Health. July 21, 1989.
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Press, 26 July 1989, Page 16
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191Care of handicapped Press, 26 July 1989, Page 16
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