Access Support Service - Latest News [Page 1]
“ACC’s Culture is Sick” - Advocate
Tuesday, 11 September 2012, 11:12 am | Access Support Service
Press Release: 11 September 2012 “ACC’s Culture is Sick” - Advocate On February 3, 2012 the NZ Herald reported on communication between ACC staff to limit assessments it was arranging to address Mrs Diane Smith’s needs in relation to a serious ankle ... More >>
Lifting the Lid on Social Rehabilitation
Friday, 3 February 2012, 9:34 am | Access Support Service
Lifting the Lid on Social Rehabilitation Access Support Services is concerned about what appears to be a culture within ACC that allows staff managing claims to affect the outcome of assessments and, ultimately, the decisions ACC makes related to social ... More >>
ACC Refuses to Revisit Surgery Decisions
Sunday, 26 June 2011, 4:26 pm | Access Support Service
Press Release: 26 June 2011 (condensed version) ACC Refuses to Revisit Surgery Decisions In May ACC released a report on its internal review into the way it makes decisions on requests to fund surgery. This came about as a result of a sustained public outcry ... More >>
ACC Must Revisit Surgery Funding Decisions
Monday, 16 May 2011, 10:56 am | Access Support Service
Last week ACC released the findings of its internal review into decision-making regarding funding surgery. The report revealed that in the nine months to March; 44 per cent of the ACC decisions declining to fund surgery challenged through the ... More >>
ACC Playing Numbers Game - Advocate
Saturday, 14 May 2011, 1:09 pm | Access Support Service
ACC Playing Numbers Game - Advocate In a recently released report titled “ACC Review of Elective Surgery Decision-making” ACC’s internal review shows that in 2009/10 of 1,167 declined surgery decisions challenged through the review process, ... More >>
“ACC’s culture must change” - Advocate
Sunday, 12 December 2010, 8:00 pm | Access Support Service
“ACC’s culture must change” - Advocate Over the last year there have been numerous negative media reports about the way ACC is managing claims, especially concerning sexual abuse victims and decisions declining surgery funding. Many organisations, ... More >>
Shutdown ACC’s ‘Sensitive Claims Unit’
Monday, 8 November 2010, 10:07 am | Access Support Service
Shutdown ACC’s ‘Sensitive Claims Unit’ – Advocate Last year ACC’s Sensitive Claims Unit (SCU), based in Wellington , implemented its new clinical pathways for claimants suffering from the effects of sexual abuse. It also adopted the so-called ... More >>
ACC’s Cull of 170 ‘Giltrap’ Claimants Wrong
Wednesday, 3 March 2010, 10:29 am | Access Support Service
In June 2009 ACC issued decisions stopping weekly compensation to 170 sexually abused claimants because it claimed a District Court decision of ‘Giltrap’ in 2006 meant they could not be compensated for loss of earnings. However, in a recent District ... More >>
ACC Looking to Revoke Historic Sexual Abuse Claims
Monday, 25 January 2010, 10:31 am | Access Support Service
Access Support Services understands ACC are looking at stopping all entitlements to claimants who lodged sexual abuse claims under former Acts if the actual abuse occurred prior to the introduction of the ACC scheme in 1974. More >>
ACC refuses 4 in 5 shoulder surgery requests
Thursday, 17 December 2009, 10:59 am | Access Support Service
In Parliament’s question time on Tuesday Labour’s Ruth Dyson asked the Minister for ACC why ACC are rejecting 80% of shoulder surgery requests. Pansy Wong responded by saying “there are protocols for assessments for acceptance of coverage.” Access ... More >>
ACC Changes - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Thursday, 15 October 2009, 9:07 am | Access Support Service
Dr Smith, Minister for ACC, has announced a raft of measures to assist in making the ACC scheme more sustainable. Changes include increasing levies and reversing the changes the Labour-led Government made to the scheme last year. More >>
ACC – Only 127 Sexual Abuse Claims
Tuesday, 21 July 2009, 10:29 am | Access Support Service
On Monday, TV 3’s 60 minutes programmed exposed 500 cases of alleged abuse, including sexual abuse, at children’s homes run by the former Department of Social Welfare. The lawyer representing these complainants said she felt it was just the tip of the ... More >>
ACC’s Cost Cutting for Sexual Abuse Victims
Monday, 6 July 2009, 12:12 pm | Access Support Service
Rape Crisis NZ estimates 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men will experience sexual abuse in their lifetime, many before the age of 16. Statistics New Zealand figures show that about 3,700 sexual abuse cases were reported to the Police in 2008. More >>
ACC should continue funding of help-line
Wednesday, 27 May 2009, 9:29 am | Access Support Service
It has been reported ACC intends discontinuing its funding for the Auckland sexual abuse help-line. The reason ACC has given is that it is outside its legislative responsibility. More >>
ACC Admits to Short-Changing Claimants
Saturday, 17 January 2009, 2:38 pm | Access Support Service
ACC has dropped a bombshell admitting that from a sample of 144 claimants’ rehabilitation plans taken in June 2008 more than half did not meet ACC’s “standards.” More >>
Advocacy Service welcomes new Minister for ACC
Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 9:49 am | Access Support Service
David Wadsworth and Tony Gibbons of Access Support Services, a Nelson-based nationwide advocacy service, congratulate Nick Smith on his appointment as the new Minister for ACC. More >>
Better ACC Cover for Seasonal/Casual Workers
Monday, 30 June 2008, 12:42 am | Access Support Service
Changes to the ACC legislation means from tomorrow seasonal and casual workers who become injured and cannot work will be treated the same as permanent workers when ACC calculates their entitlement to weekly compensation. More >>
ACC Review Fails to Identify Systemic Failures
Thursday, 3 April 2008, 9:49 am | Access Support Service
The ACC has commissioned PricewaterhouseCooper to conduct a review of the ACC Scheme. On Monday ACC released the report. “The PricewaterhouseCooper report fails to identify the systemic failures within the ACC Scheme” said Mr David Wadsworth, Principal ... More >>
ACC Floods Job Market with “Stock Clerks”
Monday, 24 March 2008, 12:48 am | Access Support Service
We find if you are male, employed in medium to heavy type work and suffer an injury that prevents you returning to that employment then chances are ACC will rehabilitate you into being a Stock Clerk. It is a relatively low paid job and usually means a ... More >>
Maori and Blue Collar workers disadvantaged by ACC
Friday, 14 March 2008, 11:10 am | Access Support Service
Maori make up 15% of those who suffer an injury and go onto weekly compensation (being in keeping with population percentage) but only 9% of Maori make up the long-term weekly compensation claimants (disproportionate). Is it that Maori rehabilitate faster ... More >>