Skip to main content | Skip to site navigation. Change text size and colours on this site:
Westminster Action Network on Disability WAND - link to homepage

Westminster Physical Disabilities and Sensory Needs Partnership Group

Partnership Groups aim to enable health and social care professionals to work together so as to provide integrated services for the people of Westminster.

The Physical Disabilities and Sensory Needs Partnership group covers the health and social care needs of adults, aged between 18 and 65 years, with a physical disability or sensory needs. It is recognised that many people over the age of 65 also have physical disabilities and sensory needs, which are addressed also by other Partnership Groups.

In the Partnership Group, the term 'disabled person' is used to include people with physical disabilities, sensory needs, brain and other traumatic injuries. The intention of the group is to be inclusive, covering the wide range of mainstream community and specialist services in recognition of the fact that most disabled people want to use the same local services as non-disabled people and will seek appropriate specialist help only when they need it.

The terms of reference for the group, are as outlined in the initial paper on partnership groups, but have been revised in January 2003, January 2004 and November 2006.

Terms of Reference

  1. To monitor the implementation of the Joint Physical Disability and Sensory Needs Strategy and to be responsible for reviewing and updating the strategy taking account of emerging new priorities, National Guidance and any consultation feedback.
  2. To implement National and Local Requirements e.g. Long Term Conditions National Service Framework, contribute to statutory plans e.g. Programme for a Healthier Westminster, Supporting People, Performance Assessment Framework, City Plan and Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. The group will feed information to the Health and Care Network Partnership Board to influence the further development of the Programme for a Healthier Westminster and Local Delivery Plan.
  3. To identify priorities for service development and commissioning for health and social care, informing the Local Delivery Plan.
  4. To consider areas of commissioning services as required to meet the objectives of the joint strategy, including identifying possible areas for joint commissioning between health and social services.
  5. To promote and facilitate the effective consultation and involvement of the wider stakeholders and to develop a user and carer involvement strategy. To take steps that ensure that users and carers are well informed about services and developments.
  6. To further develop the PDSI Partnership Group sub groups, including the Patient Participation Group, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Group and the Visual Impairment Group. To ensure that the work plans of the sub groups flow from, and feed back into, the PDSI Partnership Group work plan.
  7. To ensure that issues raised at the Partnership Group or sub groups which relate to individual needs or are outside the remit of the group are passed to WAND for advocacy action.
  8. To support and inform developments in information sources and systems which will help inform local needs assessments and service developments and meet statutory requirements.
  9. To liaise with cross cutting partnership groups as appropriate.
  10. The group will meet every 6 weeks.

Core Membership:

Site Map