Care of disabled people in the community

The initiatives raised by the International Year of Disabled Persons led to an understanding that the community may well be the best place to help disabled people. It is important to ensure that any major switch of resources from institutional to community care should be properly appraised, not just on cost-effectiveness grounds but also on the needs of the disabled persons themselves. Apart from the traditional medical input there is an imperative need to involve other professional and informal helpers to ensure the best possible outcome.