The Christmas holidays can be a wonderful time for friends and family to come together. In the NDIS space, though, various factors can make the holidays challenging.

Changes in availability for certain services, reduced staffing hours, and various additional needs all impact this period.

To ensure you, and your participants can thrive over the Christmas and New Year break, it’s essential to plan ahead.

Here are some tips for thriving during the holiday season.

Reduced access to services

Naturally, during the holidays, some services will either close down or have reduced services. For some participants, this can cause challenges.

It’s essential then, to ensure that vital services are pre-booked during this period or alternative arrangements are made. We recommend making these plans as soon as possible with the relevant service providers to avoid disappointment.

If families will be stepping in to assist more than usual, then it’s helpful for support coordinators to discuss this and ensure families have what’s needed to thrive.

Hire equipment ahead

Where service providers have limited hours, additional equipment may be needed to assist participants.

This can ensure family members or loved ones are able to assist and provide care in the best way possible.

Hiring equipment ahead of time –– to ensure there’s availability –– can be very helpful to ensure families and participants thrive.

Reduced hospital staffing

During the Christmas period, it’s not uncommon to have increased hospital discharges due to limited staffing.

It’s important to be conscious of this, plan ahead, and make other arrangements as needed.

Providing clarity and certainty

For support coordinators, it’s essential to ensure that holiday hours are communicated to participants well in advance. That way there are no surprises for participants and their families.

Making plans for alternative arrangements and service covers may be essential too.

The aim is to ensure that everyone is clear about holiday hours and expectations.

We’re here to help

At myAutonomy, it’s our goal to help participants, their families and support coordinators to thrive.

Have a question or query? We’re only a phone call away and our friendly team is more than happy to help.

Reach out to us at 1300 60 33 89 or at [email protected]

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