How can we protect our vulnerable against harm and the lies by organizations that cover it up? the need for cameras....is real
The recent bruising of an 83 year elderly lady injured with two black eyes, bruises on neck and gash in the arm at Hornsby Hospital Sydney where she was only staying for a few days this week to be assessed, was absolutely shocking for her family when they picked her up from the hospital.
These injuries were not investigated properly or explained by the hospital who said she had fallen twice (why the bruises on her neck?) and the Police who said it showed no indication of any thing sinister. To her her distressed and dismayed family when picking up their mother this was not right.
Now in an article and news on ABC and channel 7 (Evan Batten October 7th 2020)
A whistleblower has reopened investigations by stating they saw the women walking toward a lift and being restrained and dragged back to her room.
It was also claimed that police did not check the security cameras (at least there were some!) and the police did not interview the staff who were working when she was hurt.
No surprises there - is it amazing how the police keep themselves out of working with real harm and injury done to vulnerable people. Instead they spend their time chasing down parties and beach goers and fining them for not socially distancing.
Yet an old person or any disability person gets hurt and they ignore it.
The same happened when my own son when injured in the respite house where he went for the day badly hit in the head - the police and the police inspectors who I complained to would not interview the worker who was last with my son when he got injured and hit in the forehead with an object. He probably fell over they said. He doesnt fall over I said.
Please interview the worker I kept insisting. They kept refusing.
Oh shes just a young girl (she was 29 years old not that young)and she will probably lie if we question her they said. When was that ever an obstacle to questioning someone? WE cant send a big burley police man to interview a young girl she will just lie.
Since when has lying by a possible perpetrator been a reason to stop police interviewing someone about a crime?
This same thing has happened to this older vulnerable lady she was assaulted in some way and the police said she fell, that was the hospital's story and the police did not even interview the staff!
Now the case is being reoopened and investigated due to the whistleblower raising concerns. Thank God for whistleblowers - even in disabilities if a care worker speaks up they can be bullied and sacked, and it is difficult for them.
If we had cameras in disabilities places of day programes, care and respite accommodation there were be hard evidence of the truth and what really happened.
Luckily for the elderly woman injured there are cameras at Hornsby Hospital and i hope those who did it get caught and punished.
Not so lucky for disabilities people like my son if they are hurt everyone lies and covers it up and without cameras you cannot prove anything.
Without cameras the police will not listen to a complaint of assault even if the disability person could talk because they tend to not see them as credible because of having a disability it is a no win situation.
The police failed to follow up on investigating what happened to my son and they failed with this elderly lady who has been hurt badly too, not even looking at the security cameras to see what happened to her.
We need stronger laws that make it mandatory for police to investigate disability complaints of harm by those with disabilities or there families speaking up for the non verbal like I had to for my son. We need more of a protection Act like the the Child Protection so that our vulnerable children are protected properly and it is against the law to hurt them even over 18 years of age.
An article by BA Hayward, Senior Practioner (2015 Department of Health and Human Services) cites that there is no evidence that Cameras would protect a disability person from harm and that they are overrated. His research however is piffle as he is athe head of disabilities in his area and works for Human Resources so he is biased and probably paid well to say such things. As they do not want the troubnle and cost of cameras. I say there is no evidence to suggest that cameras would not protect disability people from harm since his
'research' is based on psychiatric wards and aged care and there are very few disability care or accommodation places that have cameras to protect their clients. His evidence is biased and not credible at all.
He also says that disability people do not want cameras - it breaches their privacy. How does he know what they want if they are non verbal?
Why do we have cameras in childcare centres everywhere? Do you go up to a preschool toddler and ask them if they would like cameras to protect them from being bashed or abused ? What would that toddler say. Many disabilities - intellectually in particular persons cannot make those kinds of decisions.
In fact for the rest of us are we asked if we want cameras in coffee shops, shopping centres, trains stations, trains, buses or libraries? WE are not asked such things in the normal population why use that as an excuse to not have cameras to protect those vulnerable in care or respite accommodation?
This article by BA Hayward was written while abuse and injuries still occur in secret in disability houses and respite to our vulnerable part of the population dont they deserve protection? Just like the childcare kids who cannot defend themselves or explain what happened to them.
Since the 2015 article by Hayward, Ann Marie Smith this year has died at the hands of her uncaring carer who let her starve to death and have no bathing or toileting - she could have done with cameras in her house - should they have asked her if she wanted cameras? Could she have answered them? Where were the actual people who cared about her? Anglicare should be charged as well. They took the money for her and subcontracted Integrity care out to her. They never checked on her. As she sat there day after day in a chair for a year neglected and filthy until her body shut down.
What about Merna the 19 year old who died in care with Afford disabilities, last year 2019 unsupervised in a bath...would they have asked her if she wanted cameras out in the lounges or outside the bathroom at least then it could have been seen who looked after her, and how long they left her in the bath by herself with no supervision, then there would have been evidence.
Yet we have the head of disabilities human resources say there is no evidence cameras protect people. However we have abundance of evidence that disability clients are not being protected at all without cameras.
Without security cameras you protect those workers who would neglect and harm our non verbal vulnerable children and the evidence is that without the cameras our disability children are not protected at all from what anybody does to them and instead the perpetrator is protected from prosecution and can continue to harm. The organization is protected from scrutiny and accountability and being punished without having those cameras in places of care. No wonder they dont want cameras. Its all about the money.
However it must not stay like this. All organizations need to be accountable for how they treat the vulnerable disability child, they should not ever be allowed to get away with harming and injurying those in their care.
Cameras are necessary - the evidence of the need for them is growing daily as more are hurt and die without any accountability by disability provider organizations. These organizations and bullying workers need to pay and they need to be shut down when they refuse to provide that care and protection and it needs to happen before anymore die.
Remember Ann Marie Smith, remember Merna Aprem - they died in care and through lack of care, this must not happen anymore and organizations need to be accountable, and charged and punished when it happens on their watch. Shame on them.
The NDIS is full of conflicts of interest. There should be an independent body to complain to for NDIS provider breaches of care since NDIS does not investigate properly to cover its own back. They have the power to ban and suspend providers and after 8000 complaints they have done very little. The NDIS quality commission only fined one organization Integrity care $12,000 for letting Ann Marie Smith die. Out of 8000 complaints one fine. At least the worker is charged with manslaughter. NDIS investigating its own money makers is a joke and ludicrous, of course they will never own up to the failures in their own organization or abuse to disabilities persons by providers. Stuart Robert the head of NDIS should be sacked for his lack of care and letting disabilities people suffer and die on his watch too, his lack of concern or action to fix things up or give the vulnerable protection in care is criminal.
Anndrea x