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Women’s and Children’s Health Network
Ngangkitya ngartu itya kangkawardli
Acknowledgement
The Women’s and Children’s Health Network acknowledges Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of Country throughout South Australia. We acknowledge and respect their ongoing and deep spiritual connection and relationship to land, air, sea, waters, community and country. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

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Encompass-ing Service

Encompass Declan
Posted 29 Nov 2022

Declan is a sports-mad, Disney fan, living with a rare form of epilepsy called Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS).

This means he has seizures without warning and requires constant care and monitoring, with mum, Bianca, his main carer.

“Because Declan could fall at any time, he needs to wear a helmet and needs someone with him all the time,” Bianca said.

Declan also has an intellectual disability, requires oxygen and has a PEG (feeding tube into his stomach) all which need expert care.

Thanks to the team at Encompass, Bianca now has two well trained carers who support her to look after Declan’s daily needs.

His Encompass nurse was able to show the carers how to provide respiratory and feeding support and to look after Declan during a seizure.

This means he can go to school, attend respite care and go on outings in the community, including to his favourite restaurant every Sunday.

“He loves Mama Carmela’s at Glenelg and he goes with his carers each week, he just loves it!” Bianca said.

Encompass, run by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, works closely with families to provide community assistance and trains support workers to attend to the specific needs of each child or young person.

Mum, Bianca, says without the team at Encompass, Declan would rarely be able to leave the house.

“Declan’s carers are trained for his exact needs, which means they are able to help him do these everyday normal things and give our family much needed respite,” Bianca said.

“The Encompass team are just wonderful and we really can’t thank them enough.”

Encompass is a registered provider under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) but is also available to children and young people not covered by the scheme.

Children and Young People aged up to 24 years can access the service which supports participants through to transition to adult care.

To find out more visit www.wchn.sa.gov.au/encompass