It’s a pretty bad state of affairs when a mother has to hire a private investigator to find out why her daughter died in the actual ‘care’ of a provider. That is what Tanya Petrus had to do when her daughter died in the care of Afford Disabilities in 2019, when she asked them what happened they did not answer her straight away and left her in the dark. Four years later she told the Sydney morning Herald there have still been no proper answers. (Perry Duffin March 21st, 2023) Afford disabilities will now face legal battles to do with the death of Merna who allegedly drowned in the bath at the residential house where she was staying. How dare they think they can get away with this negligence at all? Steven Herold has stepped down along with three other executives in the last few years. Surely there must be a punishment a reckoning for this omission in their care?
It was noted in the article while looking at Royal Commission findings, that between 2015 and 2021 Afford focused on growth at the expense of safety and quality of services. They ‘inhibited staff’ from raising concerns about operations. Tanya said they broke their promise to her “Its four years…and I haven’t got any answer of what happened to Merna that night” initially they said they were waiting for police investigation, then coroner investigation – always never giving Tanya answers. These people are such a cover up. No wonder she needed a private investigator – providers will not give the truth. They are corporations telling lies – covering their backs, they are not carers at all!
It was noted in the article that weeks after Merna died, an Afford support worker started abusing two disabled young men in his care at an Afford Mt Druitt’s day program. Unbeknownst to their families. How can we trust any providers when this is allowed to happen? We just cannot. We need to monitor our children’s care constantly. Especially when they are non verbal. The royal commission saw Afford’s response to this male workers abuse of the boys as deficient and the former CEO also failed to apologise to the parents of these boys. The whole organization looks deficient to me. The support worker is now in prison for three years. Why was he ever made a support worker in disabilities in the first place? Because there is no standard of care expected of disability workers at all, they come in untrained and unskilled, uneducated in many cases – when they should be taught on disabilities at the least just as workers are expected to be in childcare.
The only reason this worker got caught was because he took photos of these boys in his activities and the police were able to catch him out. Without cameras we are truly on a back foot to protect our disability children. Even in the death of Merna, if there had been cameras at least out side the bathroom doors we would have seen exactly who left her in the bath, what time they checked her and were they telling the truth? Was the other worker sitting in the lounge watching TV as
Merna was dying? What went on? The court will be considering the case this week. We need the truth to come out for her mother’s sake and their family and it is criminal if this organization is not penalized for what happened for the fact of leaving a disability girl alone in the bath. It defies understanding that workers could be so careless and so uncaring. Still these things are covered up by these kinds of money orientated providers like Afford. There are many like that.
I have encountered this cover up also in smaller ways but importantly when my Son was assaulted (I would say common assault) because he was wounded by a worker to the head also in 2019 and they could also not give me any answers at the respite house he was at for the day - they moved the worker away but the police said clearly “no cameras no crime”,so I responded by lobbying to make cameras mandatory in all disabilities places since they were allowed them but do not have them. WE also need workers who are decently trained like the childcare workers who have at least two years uni or tafe before they can be employed.
I moved James away from that provider for any kind of respite in the end but the next assault was even more covered up at a day program when he came home with deep bruising on his arm and the manager of that said it was a ‘mystery’ its not a mystery I said someone knows what happened i.e. the two workers with him that day. The CEO suspended James because of my complaints and writing about what happened even though I had not named them, so I named them after that since they were punishing the victim and not the perpetrator – the worker who punched my gentle son repeatedly to the arm.
Every time you complain they shut down -the providers – and cover up. When I moved James to a completely new provider for respite (James lives with us as I will not trust any residential care with him now until we absolutely have to do that as there are too many crimes done by providers that are covered up just like aged care).
Since they only care about money this is what you get - recently a worker told me that a few years ago James had fallen down some stairs after I said no matter how many time we do physio or exercise or practice he is still afraid to walk up and down a few steps. The worker innocently mentioned (not thinking I would pick up on it) that James had fallen down, but I said James always has a one on one worker – how could he fall down if they are following my instructions to always go up and down stairs with James. That respite house had a lot of stairs which I worried about and they moved to another house which had less, but no one ever reported that he had fallen down and as there were no obvious bruises I never knew.
I wrote to the managers and said you were told to always have a worker go up and down the stairs and you were told you have to report all incidents that happen to James on the day not three days later but it this case there was no report. Oh said one tell us who the worker was – do you know their name so that we an investigate – I didn’t answer. Because I knew what would happen they would remove the worker from James who was actually one of the good ones as they had always done that everytime I complained the other workers suddenly disappeared. The bowling ball dropping on James foot, being knocked over by another client – if I asked questions and why take three days to tell me??? They would be disappeared as it seems the manager did not want them to talk to me it was very obvious. Or he said they didn’t want to pick up James anymore but just work with him - I said forget it then but I realized later it was he that made up that story to keep them away from me. Oh what a wicked web we weave when we seek at first to deceive.
Afford disabilities appears to be a cruel callous provider in disabilities that covers up and lies all in the name or quest for money - its not about care at all. This all needs to change.
We need CCTV cameras to protect our vulnerable and especially non verbal children and adult children without them they remain at risk of harm by the wolves in disabilities and are defenceless from attacks. The disability providers remain unaccountable and getting away with much abuse. 7000 last year just in the group homes. Parents are sick with worry for their children’s futures when we are no longer here. WE need to change the system and make them accountable in disabilities and we need CCTV cameras for deterrence and evidence in court or no one is charged or sentenced. Sign my petition -
Change.org/disabilitycameras
All the best
Anndrea x
#disabilitylivesmatteroz