It’s the little things that make a big difference

When Kelly arrives at hospital, she often carries more than a medical history. She carries years of having to explain herself.

As a person living with disability, every new appointment or hospital admission begins with the same questions. Who are your specialists? What support do you need?

But recently, that experience changed.

Using the My Health Journey Hospital Passport, Kelly can share with staff what matters most to her. It includes her communication preferences, support needs, and the things that help her feel safe and respected. Instead of starting with her diagnosis, staff can first know Kelly as a person.

“It saves needing to answer all those questions,” she said. “People get to know me a little bit quicker.”

Kelly is one of many people whose experiences helped shape a partnership between Blue Sky Community Services and Mid North Coast Local Health District. Together, with people with lived experience of disability and their families, they have been working to make healthcare more accessible and inclusive across the Mid North Coast.

Often, people with disability face physical barriers when accessing community services, but they also experience barriers that relate to communication, understanding, safety and confidence. Working alongside the community, the project developed practical solutions to make health services easier to navigate.

One of those solutions was the introduction of sensory kits across hospitals, community health and ambulance settings. The kits contain sensory tools that can help reduce anxiety and provide comfort.

Staff quickly saw the difference.

One health worker recalled supporting a child who was becoming increasingly distressed while waiting for surgery.

“When supplied with the sensory kit, they calmed down, focused on the kit and were distracted.”

Parents also reported that the kits helped their children settle more comfortably during hospital visits.

For disability advocate Ron, the value of the project goes beyond new resources or training programs.

“They want their information to be given to the hospital, so they don’t have to keep explaining the situation every time they go there,” he said. “People like to know they are being listened to.”

That principle shaped the entire project. People with disability and their families were not simply asked for feedback. They helped design the training, resources and solutions from the beginning. Their lived experience helped identify barriers, challenge assumptions and create practical ideas that could work in busy settings.

Those ideas reached thousands of health staff through disability awareness education, practical resources and ongoing support. Staff reported greater knowledge, confidence and understanding when working alongside people with disability and their families.

An independent evaluation of the project conducted by Charles Sturt University has shown what can happen when healthcare services genuinely partner with the people and communities they serve.

For Kelly, the impact comes back to something simple.

“If doctors know a little bit about you as a person, it makes all that rapport building quicker,” she said.

In rural communities, where relationships matter, that understanding can make all the difference. As one participant reflected:

“It’s just the little things that make a big difference.”