The National Commission for Disabled Persons (KNPD) said yesterday that it broadly agrees with Labour’s recently published policy document on health.

However, although it said that it agrees with various points in the document, it was critical of the fact that disabled people are only mentioned briefly on one occasion. The KNPD said the number of people with a severe disability who were living longer was on the increase, for several reasons, including an improved standard of healthcare, so it is important that these people are properly integrated into the community.

The KNPD said that community services need to be improved as well as the standard of individual services. It also noted that there are differencies between what is being proposed for disabled people and for those with mental health problems.

The commission asked why the proposals for those suffering from mental health problems were not applied to the disabled. It said that in the minds of disabled people there is a stigma attached to St Luke’s Hospital that is difficult to erase.

In its conclusions the KNPD called for the development of small community homes, state financing of non governmental services such as Sapport and the distinction between medical and social issues as regards disability. It also said that it did not agree with the proposal that part of St Luke’s Hospital be developed into a residence for the disabled.