Person-centred care after minor transport-related injuries
quality of life scores. These clients reported that they
did not recover or were only partially recovered at the
time of the COS survey.
The “good recovery” group (LBoT 7–10) consisted
of clients aged between 27 and 70 years of age, living
in the metropolitan area, with a claim duration of ap-
proximately 25–36 months. In the COS survey, these
clients reported moderate to mild level of pain and to
have nearly or partially recovered.
Themes captured in social domain and relevant to
this paper are shown in the Table II.
General overview of the themes
During interviews, few clients (5) mentioned some
benefits in using compensation services, but most (17)
have raised numerous issues with the compensation
system and claiming processes. Some included limits
on amount payable or limits on compensated services
and others described compensation insurance as a
“forced insurance” (considering Victorians must pay
for registration and extras), which did not provide
adequate social and financial support. The system
was also described as limited in scheme rules with
certain services that cannot be approved (e.g. plasma
therapy). Clients found the guidance in navigating the
compensation system to be disappointing and a source
of ongoing frustration. Hence, some clients decided not
to “bother” with the compensation regulations and paid
for services themselves, while others still reported that
they had services under review or were using their pri-
vate health insurance. Surprisingly, 9 of the 11 clients
identified as being in “good recovery”, according to
the LBoT, reported that they had not recovered and
did not believe they were in good health during the
subsequent interview conducted by the researcher as
part of this project. Consequently, it was not possible
to conduct a comparison between the poor health and
good health groups due to the small number of people
reporting to be in “good recovery”.
Table II. Emerging themes of the access and delivery of
compensation services
Theme and Sub-theme
1. Benefits of the compensation system
a) Right to use home assistance
b) Provision of equipment and/or tools needed
2. Limitations of the compensation system
c) Scheme limitations
d) Lack of information and guidance
e) Lack of a single point of contact and lack of trust in case managers’
decisions
f) Lack of understanding of the compensation system, its policies and
procedures and lack of guidelines
g) Financial impacts
123
1. Benefits of the compensation system
a) Right to use home assistance. Clients (n = 4) felt
grateful for assistance provided by the compensation
provider following physical incapacitation and stressed
how crucial this was in facilitating their recovery. Most
clients discussed feeling lost and shocked after the ac-
cident, some also experiencing excruciating pain days
after the accident. For that reason, timely and early
intervention and support with daily duties was crucial
for them. Although not everyone experienced this level
of support, clients who were supported in their homes
or work found this to be vital for their recovery.
The occupational therapist has been here to see me because
of assessing for the household things that they are doing. They
provided some support with home assistance as I could not do
much at the time. This was obviously very important for my
recovery. (Female, 48 years old, soft tissue – neck and back)
b) Provision of equipment and/or tools needed to
improve daily functioning. Injuries left some clients with
ongoing physical disabilities, which consequently led to them
needing to make significant adjustments to their home and
work environment. This included adjusting steps to aid access
and providing chairs/new equipment. This was particularly
important for people who were self-employed and still wor-
king, so that they could go back to work as early as possible,
with adjustments that helped them in dealing with functional
limitations they were left with after the accident.
They gave me a new chair that I can lift up and down be-
cause if I look down I get dizzy. They also got me a new trolley
which is about 6 inches higher than the old trolleys that I had
which was really good as well. They sort of did that for me.
(Female, 55 years old, soft tissue-contusion)
2. Limitations of the compensation system
c) Scheme limitations. Some issues with the compensa-
tion system included limits on the amount payable or
limits on compensated services and access to certain
services. The compensation insurance system was de-
scribed as a “forced insurance”, which did not provide
adequate social and financial support and was limited
by scheme rules which prohibited certain services.
“Forced insurance” was a term that clients commonly
used in describing how they must pay for car regist-
rations and TAC access fees, but when they needed
financial support and help, they have not received what
they felt they were entitled to.
Because I wanted to do the alternative treatment and [the
compensation provider] said no, so then I had to go back and
forth to get things approved. It is a limited service that we are
forced to pay but don’t get anything back. (Female, 45 years
old, soft tissue- neck and shoulder)
d) Lack of information and guidance. Issues com-
monly reported by clients involved complexities in
the recovery journey with no guidance provided by
J Rehabil Med 51, 2019