exceed worldwide
London
Exceed Worldwide, with partners, has established Schools of Prosthetics and
Orthotics (P&O) in five countries in Southeast and South Asia – Cambodia, Sri
Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar. With the exception of the
Philippines, our Schools train Prosthetist Orthotists to International Society
for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) Category 2 standards. The Philippines
School trains students to ISPO Category 1 standard. In addition, our Cambodian
School trains P&O technicians. This course has been recommended for ISPO
Category 3 accreditation and is awaiting certification. Exceed works closely
with ISPO to gain and maintain international accreditation standards and all of
our P&O schools work closely with key partners, including government ministries,
institutions of third-level education disabled persons’ organisations and other
NGOs, to ensure that programme curricula comply with national standards and that
graduates of P&O schools are recognised as health care professionals who can be
integrated in national health systems. Places at our first,
internationally-acclaimed school in Cambodia (established in 1994) are offered
to students from other lower and middle income countries and this school will
offer a course at ISPO Category 1 level from 2021. DEVELOPING CLINICAL SERVICES
Courses at each P&O school focus on theory and practice, with a strong emphasis
on practical training in teaching clinics which emphasise the importance of
establishing and delivering care to national and international standards. Exceed
P&O centres provide high quality, free or very low cost physical rehabilitation
services for people with disabilities. ADVOCACY We work at grass roots level
with teachers, community leaders and families to encourage understanding of the
needs and abilities of children and adults with disabilities and promote their
inclusion in local communities and society in general. We also collaborate with
national and international resource holders and policy makers, including
national governments, ISPO and WHO, to ensure that equal rights and the
inclusion of persons with disability is high on the agenda. COMMISSIONING
ACTION-BASED RESEARCH Lack of hard data and high quality research on the impact
of disability, the needs of people with disabilities and the design, development
and assessment of support services is a critical issue. To address this
well-documented research and data deficit, Exceed has founded and co-ordinates
the Exceed Research Network (ERN), an international research consortium
involving universities, NGOs, P&O businesses and eminent social, P&O and
engineering researchers and practitioners from these sectors. ERN is a young
organisation, but Network partners are already carrying out applied research to
address a range of P&O and disability issues. OFFERING COMMUNITY-BASED
REHABILITATION Exceed Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) activities reflect
ISPO and WHO guidelines. Our community teams focus on the identification of
people with disabilities who need support, referral for treatment at Exceed
centres and follow-up support. This support enables children, young people and
adults with disability to access education and training, gain employment or
start small businesses. We also work with community projects that directly
address poverty and the exclusion of people with disabilities from mainstream
development assistance. DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO SERVICE PROVISION 80% of
those who need P&O services do not have access to them. Resources are scarce and
Exceed believes that the future provision and expansion of P&O services to an
adequate level will depend on creative co-operation between governments, the
private sector, NGOs and donors to develop new service models. Exceed believes
that social enterprise (a business that uses its profits for social impact) will
play an important role in this mix and has launched Exceed Social Enterprises as
a vehicle to access private wealth to support charitable services.
