Dear Supporters, 

Recently, an investigator from the HDC called me. They wanted to understand what we wanted done as a result of our complaint. This is the first time they have asked this question since we submitted our complaint in January 2022. Perhaps we wouldn't be waiting this long for answers if they had asked it earlier. My response was:

• To ensure the Doctor is held to account, especially given he relied on imaging/scans from 8 years prior to deciding to move forward with the ERCP.
• To ensure that procedural guidelines are adopted nationally so that other families aren't impacted like ours.

The investigator said she would discuss this with one of the Assistant Commissioners and get back to me. After a few days, she called with an update: The Aged Care Commissioner had asked that a formal investigation be opened. This took 986 days... I was informed that the investigation could take another year to complete. 

During the phone call with the investigator, I also requested a meeting with the Aged Care Commissioner to discuss the ridiculous wait for cases to be assigned to an investigator and the need for real change at the HDC to ensure families get answers and lessons are learnt and adopted as soon as possible. The date has not been set for this meeting yet, but I suspect it will be in the new year. 

The petition's focus now turns to finding an MP who is willing to submit it to the House and then refer it to the Select Committee. I have asked my local MP for support, but he has previously indicated that, given his position as Minister, he will likely be unable to submit it to the House. That is because the petition will look poorly on the government, and as a Minister, he's not prepared to call out his Governments performance. 

It was disappointing to hear him say that, and I pushed back quite strongly. It's frustrating when optics and politics get in the way of change. No government, either the current administration, the previous one, or the one before, isn't solely to blame; collective blame can, however, be spread across each of them for not addressing the situation. 

We must put politics aside to effect real change and find the areas we all agree on. I told my MP, Andrew Baily, 'Imagine what could be achieved if politicians stopped blaming each other and actually just got on with fixing the situation'. He responded, 'It would be great, but it will never happen.'

What hope do we have if our MPs aren't willing to work together?

Regards,
Gareth