Woman blasts ‘ humiliating’ lack of late care NDIS DISGRACE
A W H E E L C H A I R - B O U N D Townsville woman is furious with the National Disability Insurance Scheme ( NDIS) after not being able to access 24- hour home care through her support provider.
Merissa Tones was born with cerebral palsy, which has rendered her incontinent, and receives home care though NDIS provider Spinal Life Australia.
But the group was last week unable to provide her with on- call assistance between 10pm and 6am when she needed to go to the toilet.
She described the incident as “humiliating” after she was left to wait until the following morning for help.
“If you pass a bowel movement after 10pm, they won’t come to you,” Ms Tones said.
“I certainly wouldn’t leave a baby in a dirty nappy overnight, so why should I be left that way?”
The mother of three transferred to Spinal Life Australia from a different NDIS provider around September last year.
Ms Tones said the transition to the NDIS had been frustrating and confusing, and blamed the management of the scheme and organisations.
“It’s just a constant fight with them,” she said.
“It’s not the carers, it’s the managers … and it needs an overhaul.”
A Spinal Life Australia spokesman said the provider did not provide 24- hour support for most clients, except clients who required constant ventilation.
“While we would like to deliver a 24- hour on- call service to best support our clients, we do not receive sufficient funding to make this a reality,” he said.
The spokesman said clients were advised they may need to rely on family or other support after 10pm, and to contact emergency services if their situation was critical.
Minister for Disability Services and Seniors Coralee O’Rourke said she was “appalled” to hear of any instance where there may be a support gap for disabled people.
“( I) have asked my department to follow up with the NDIS and the individual to make sure the issues raised in this instance are being addressed, and a support solution is reached,” she said.
“The NDIS is designed to be consumer driven, and participants are able to choose and control the services they need.
“If that is not occurring as intended, I will certainly be calling on the Federal Government to do better.”
Spinal Life Australia has offered to meet with Ms Tones to discuss solutions for out- of- hours support and plans to involve a Registered Nurse for medical concerns.