Why the Bedford situation is a major wake-up call
The near collapse of Bedford is another wake-up call that we need to put people before profit-driven business models, writes The Wyatt Trust CEO Stacey Thomas.
Like many, I was dismayed last week to see the news of Bedford Group headed for voluntary administration.
As an organisation with an 80-year history providing support for 1400 people with disability across South Australia, the hole this would create in the lives of the people they support and their families was unlikely to be easily or quickly filled by alternative providers.
But what disheartened me more was the announcement that the NDIS model was not sustainable for supported employment.
On the same day Bedford’s news hit the headlines, Ramsay Health Care announced the imminent closure of 17 psychology clinics around the country. While none of these are in South Australia, the rationale was rising costs and uneven demand. Again, the business model was not sustainable.
We are getting repeat wake-up calls that the way our markets operate, the economic and policy principles that underpin them, do not serve the solutions that people want and need.
The takeaway from last week’s news is that access to supported employment and pathways to open employment for people with disability, or access to psychological support, can only be provided if there is an economic benefit to the provider.
In the case of Bedford, this economic benefit is to keep the lights on and offer more opportunities for people with disability. I am not suggesting this is not warranted or appropriate. But I am suggesting that as a community, with a government that is there to serve our best interests, we need to be having a more sophisticated conversation about how we create and deliver solutions for services we consider essential.
Business models should not be the driver of what constitutes a valued or important service. People who are marginalised, be it due to living with disability or experiencing psychological distress should not be left out in the cold because we couldn’t figure out a financial model to support them.
Like many other commentators, I’m pleased to see the SA government stepping in over the weekend to provide Bedford Group with a short-term support package. Time will tell how the new executive leadership stabilises the business and what impact this will have on the people and families supported by Bedford.
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For full transparency, The Wyatt Trust has invested in one of Bedford’s social enterprises and will likely join the list of creditors should the organisation be found to be insolvent.
But as an endowed philanthropic foundation, our role is one that can take on extra risk, to support an organisation like Bedford to innovate and strive for better outcomes for people with disability.
My hope is, while The Wyatt Trust can wear this risk, that government and decision makers alike be bold and rally to deliver alternative operating models. Ones that value all people, that understand the cost of delivering what our community needs cannot always be recouped and profits made, and most importantly, safeguard basic human rights like access to employment and healthcare.
Stacey Thomas is the CEO of The Wyatt Trust, Australia’s oldest philanthropic foundation.
