The Afford disabilities case and Merna’s justice – the need for reform in disabilities … Providers pretend to care like the logo on the Afford Van....but the word 'afford' spells it all - the main motivation is money and we need to protect our children and adults from hidden crimes against them as providers go after funds more than caring for the vulnerable!
Noted last week on 7 News (6 December 2021) in a move which is historic, the NDIS quality commission the watchdog of NDIS, is bringing a lawsuit against Afford Disabilities and is suing Afford Disabilities for the ‘litany of failures’ contributing to the drowning of young Merna (20 year old Autistic girl) at an Afford Disabilities house in May 2019. It has been two and a half years of grief and struggle for the family of Merna as Afford seemed to turn its back on them after the death of Merna. Finally they have some justice for dear Merna.
Noted in the article (7News)
“Ms Aprem - who had epilepsy and autism - had moved into Woodbine residential home two months before she was found face down and surrounded by vomit in the bath on May 23, 2019.
Following "extensive" investigations, the federal agency on Monday announced it is suing the Australian Foundation for Disability (Afford), which ran the home, over Ms Aprem's "tragic" death.”
It is a lawsuit move that is the first of its kind by the NDIS quality commission who has done very little in the spate (even last year 7000)of incidents of harm against those with disabilities in care and programs of providers, not prosecuting anyone, indeed often siding with the Providers and not listening to the parents who have seen their children traumatized and harmed, abused, and assaulted it is usually smoothed over the parents told that the commission would work with the provider to follow protocols in future.
Yes great, sure, but those providers already knew the protocols including mandatory reporting of an incident but still fail many times to report any incidents in order to keep their businesses running. The know abuse and violence against those with disability is not acceptable but to little to stop it. It really is all about the money for the providers’ businesses they run with cold hearted at times calculation about what they can get and how much, not how they can help or care for a vulnerable person.
The article notes that ‘In documents filed in the Federal Court, the commission alleges the company failed in its obligations to support Ms Aprem in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill.
That left the 20-year-old's safety at "real and significant risk".’
The incident occurred as described in the article “She was left alone in the bath that evening, with the door ajar. But when one of the women returned to check on her, the door was locked and Ms Aprem wasn't responding.”
Big mystery – who locked the door? Why doesn’t anyone know what really happened? Providers always plead ignorance but are usually concealing what they really know happened. If there had been cameras outside in the next room or hallway it could have shown what really happened. Alas without cameras our children remain in the care of those who will lie and cover up the truth and we never really know it.
The workers should never have left her alone in the bath – regardless whether they knew she had epilepsy or not, it is a danger in itself to leave a person who has a disability in the bath by themselves, just like it is for children – it is an automatic danger. Why didn’t they know this? Where was common sense?
“The pair (workers) broke into the bathroom, using a kitchen knife to unscrew the handle and finding Ms Aprem unconscious with her mouth and nose submerged, the documents before the court say”
Why didn’t they kick the door down or axe it down - they could not think they did not know what to do. Why were the workers so ignorant ? Had they even done a first aid or resuscitation course? How could this be allowed to happen? Untrained inexperienced workers that is how. Even when you do give disability workers instructions for your vulnerable child or adult child’s care they do not always read them, or follow them. Depending on their age, experience or character. It should not rely on that.
The article further notes “Paramedics - who were only called more than 20 minutes after the carer found the door locked - were unable to revive Ms Aprem and she died at the scene.” Twenty minutes is too long. Too sad too much. All through human error and lack of health and safety protocols being followed.
The article by 7 New said that the two workers there the night that Merna died, had never worked there before or had a buddy help to show them how to look after the four persons in their care that night. Typical. Both workers also did not know Merna had epilepsy!! Why?
7News notes “Notably, of three documents the home was required to have outlining Ms Aprem's needs, one didn't exist and the other two were incomplete, the commission claims.
Among other omissions, a section of Ms Aprem's incomplete epilepsy management plan requiring the identification of strategies to manage the risk of bathing or showering was left blank.”
Its all paperwork but what about actually putting human input into the workers and training them how to work with those with disabilities and those residents in that house? Where was the paperwork? Gross slackness, health and safety not followed leads to deaths. Our disability children’s deaths.
Workers need to be trained in disabilities more than the low standard of “no experience needed” we need qualified care workers who have learned knowledge of disabilities and will be paid more than the low wages present workers are on but a pay that requires workers to have training, education and experienced placement in disabilities. This taking no qualified workers to do ‘care’ when they know nothing and much less than a childcare worker is gross neglect of those in disabilities. What about us what about those in disabilities – they should have well qualified workers too not just money making business people – a higher kind of person than that. If they are not paid the money the good ones will never come or be trained.
Why is there not adequate health and safety followed in disabilities? The slack monitoring by NDIS commission is not helping up until now this first time with the loss of Merna the commission decides it might do something because they know they should have done more. They also are culpable for Merna’s demise. Not good enough . The providers remain unaccountable and can do what they like until something like this happens and they are found out.
The 7News article notes “…(Afford Disabilities) failed to implement measures to protect Ms Aprem, including ensuring staff had access toher bathroom.” And that “NDIS providers have very clear obligations…Samantha Taylor said providers who don’t meet them will be weeded out”
Considering nearly all the providers do not meet the obligations of mandatory reporting, as well as all that happened to Merna they might all be the weeds that need throwing out but words are cheap when it comes to the NDIS dealing with their providers we need to see actions and penalties to back their words about the disability providers.
May Afford go down for allowing this girl to die in their care and all the other abuses that may be happening there. May many other providers be sued or at least penalized or punished for their allowing of abuses of lack of proper care, health and safety to be carried out for the vulnerable children and adults who are at the mercy of these organizations who are so backward they cannot even keep proper records or information given to the ignorant workers who don’t even know what they should be doing for the vulnerable who could die like Merna any time due to their negligence and lack of information or lack of care toward them.
One wonders if the NDIS commission is doing this to save face as they would have been investigated should Merna’s mother sue Afford herself, indeed they would be culpable as not monitoring their providers enough to see if they trully are looking after the clients they suck the money from and the providers are paid by the NDIS with the funding we the parents fight for to have those services for our vulnerable children.
Tanya, Merna’s mother, could also have sued the NDIS or the court investigate the NDIS failings also. The NDIS does not want to be sued itself so beat them to the punch perhaps by suing Afford – someone has to pay for the cruel tragic loss of a girl who did not need to die all through lack of doing the right thing on Afford’s part and I believe the NDIS is to blame through making disabilities a business that every man and his dog wants to run regardless of what they know about disabilities which is often nothing. The NDIS is guility of not having more human input for those in the disabilities system of care and checking or making providers accountable for what they do, maybe they will more now, and failing in demanding training for workers that enables them to have qualifications and better pay in disabilities so that these oversights and lack of knowing what’s going on is not happening in a disabilities program, respite or residential care. Shame on the NDIS for letting it go this far until someone dies.
Even when Ann Marie Smith died, Stuart Robert did not take the blame for how they run the NDIS and did nothing about the Integrity Care or Anglicare involvement. It was the SA police who prosecuted the worker for letting Ann die because I guess they had enough evidence and investigated it for a change usually not doing much about disabilities incidents in NSW at least the police do not concern themselves with following up incidence of violence against our children, citing without cameras there is no crime. . Stuart Robert and the NDIS commission did not punish anyone for Ann Marie’s death. He himself should have been sued for letting such gross neglect happen under the auspices of the NDIS ‘care’ providers He should have also seen that his system is wrong and still is in ignoring the human needs of those who are so vulnerable and not making the providers more accountable. Let us hope the NDIS commission steps up more and does something about the neglect and assaults occurring in many of the Providers’ care programs and houses. We need greater accountability and some actual punishments and penalties to make providers do the right thing and not get away with the wrong. I see the need for cctv cameras because the providers lie their way out of any culpability for any violence or abuses that occur in their businesses and cameras are the only way to catch the perpetrators and take providers to court and sue them as they should be sued and made to pay the price for what they have done and allowed to happen to our children in their care. sign my petition and stop this deviant crime continuing in disabilities:

change.org/disabilitycameras

all the best
Anndrea Wheatley

#disabilitylivesmatteroz
#ifjamescouldtalkactiongroup
#cctvcameras4disabilities