Matthew Yates has always had a passion for promoting function and helping people learn how to live their best lives.
This passion has underpinned every move throughout his career, and has led to his newest opportunity with us at Monash Health as the newly appointed Head of the Centre for Developmental Disability Health (CDDH).
“Everyone wants to be able to live a meaningful life and make a contribution, and the key to that is function,” he said.
“At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here to help with.”
Having been trained as a physiotherapist, Matthew made his start in the disability sector by working at a Specialist School for children with physical disabilities as a graduate – and he never looked back.
“I developed this passion for working with children with disabilities, and after a while I wanted to work more closely with families in the community, which led me to working in early intervention,” he said.
Matthew landed a role at the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre, working closely with children under six and their families in their homes, kindergartens, community centres and more.
He ended up staying with them for 15 years – during which time he moved from a physiotherapist role into becoming General Manager of the organisation.
“Working in that space gave me many different opportunities, like developing educational resources, leading a team of physiotherapists, and working and sharing skills with speech pathologists and occupational therapists,” Matthew said.
“When the NDIS rolled around, I had to get the organisation and families ready for all the changes that would bring.”
Looking to the future
Now, Matthew is excited to see what kinds of positive change he can implement at the CDDH.
“Working in early intervention, I saw the challenges kids had when they left this space and moved into adulthood,” he said.
“That’s why I decided to take the plunge here and see where I can make improvements, such as with healthcare access.”
Matthew is hoping he can make a real impact on how people with disabilities access and actively participate in their own healthcare.
“The mission of the CDDH is to really upskill and support primary health services, and I think that’s where I can see some focus on research and ongoing education making a world of difference in the long-term at Monash Health,” he said.
A time for action
With the recent launch of our new Disability Strategy and Action Plan 2023-27 (DSAP), there’s never been a more exciting time to step into a role in the Disability sector at Monash Health – and Matthew couldn’t agree more.
“We’re currently working out what role the CDDH can play in supporting the new plan and delivering aspects of it early through collaboration,” he said.
“The DSAP is multi-faceted and doesn’t look at disability through only one lens or perspective.”
The new DSAP has also been able to secure ongoing funding for our Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs), which is a service managed by the CDDH.
DLOs help people with disabilities access the healthcare they need at Monash Health by providing individual patient support and implementing systemic changes by upskilling staff through education to raise awareness and understanding of disability within the organisation.
“They provide individual patient support, can act as a single point of contact, understand their requirements and adjustments, act as a listening ear, make referrals across the service and provide that one-on-one support,” Matthew said.
“They are an integral part of the DSAP and our health service in improving access for patients with disabilities and building confidence in our own abilities as an organisation to meet the needs of these people.”
The way forward
It’s sadly no surprise that people with disabilities have poorer health outcomes across the board – but this is something Matthew is hoping to change for the better.
“Most people get a bit nervous going into the hospital or seeing the doctor, but for people with disabilities who have frequently had negative previous experiences due to a lack of understanding and adjustments in place, this can be especially daunting,” he said.
“People who aren’t familiar with disability often don’t understand how to engage – and that’s because disability in our society has been hidden for so long and there’s since been a huge amount of work to raise the profile of disability.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just people, and it’s about respectful communication, inclusivity, accessibility and acceptance.”
