ACC's Attitude Slammed as a Disgrace
ACCLAIM Support groups

ACCLAIM support groups from around the country are calling for the General Manager of ACC Healthwise, David Rankin's, sacking for his denigrating, discrediting and demonising comments about ACC claimants reported in several newspapers this morning.

"People with serious injuries get into the habit of watching TV all day, getting up at midday, and lose the routine, lose some of the self-presentation skills." Rankin went further in an attempt to justify his incompetence and ineptitude. He said "Before doing these courses they had all been on ACC for six months or more, had become dependent on ACC benefits and were showing no motivation at all about looking for a job or finding a job."

Support groups would like to remind the ACC that payments are not benefits. They are entitlements for injured people who have had cover accepted for an injury.These claimants remain injured and have medical certificates that state they are still affected by their injury, to the extent that they require continuing cover from ACC, by GPs and specialists.

A spokesperson for the support groups said "We are incensed with this absolutely unacceptable attitude and culture at the top level of ACC management which clearly permeates throughout the entire ACC system and our people are again calling for a public inquiry. We expect greater levels of accountability from a corporation that collects more than 2.3 billion of public money annually from NZ levy payers, which by the way includes claimants and their families." Despite ACC's motto of Prevention, Care and Recovery claimants say that they are not receiving specialist recommended aids and appliances which will assist them. They are not even receiving appropriate rehabilitation, despite having signed and agreed Individual Rehabilitation Plans.

David Rankin has also failed to mention the "financial incentives" linked to Key Performance Indicators for ACC Staff to remove injured claimants from ACC assistance, clearly exposed on www.Accforum.org. and published in the media in 2003. It would appear from Ruth Dyson's comments that work preperation programme providers are also rewarded financially for 'successful outcomes'.

An ACCLAIM spokesperson commented "This leaves us wondering whether the Work Preparation Programmes are just another exit strategy designed to remove people's rightful entitlement to rehabilitation and compensation whilst padding the government's coffers. Comments made by the General Manager certainly do nothing to waylay our concerns."

ENDS

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