Raymond
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Raymond told the Royal Commission he is concerned that the tragic case of Ann Marie Smith – a South Australian woman with cerebral palsy who, neglected by support workers, died alone in her own home – potentially mirrors his own.
He explained that in some of the news footage, the reporter asked why the NDIS approved local area coordinator hadn’t picked up on Ann Marie’s neglect.
‘The thing I wanted to share is that my local area coordinator has never contacted me to ask questions about how I am doing, the only contact I have is when my new NDIS plan needs to be reviewed.’
Raymond said he has called ‘on several occasions’ when he had questions or needed assistance, but his calls have never been returned.
Raymond would like to choose which company he uses as his local area coordinators, but in the regional town he lives in, there is only one company the NDIA allows to do this. ‘So I do not have any choice,’ he said.
Raymond is also struggling with employment and does not understand why, as ‘a multiple amputee’, he is not classed as having a permanent disability. ‘They reject my disability claim, and put me on JobSeeker (Newstart) and expect me to compete with able bodied people for work, I am at a disadvantage from the beginning.’
Meanwhile, Raymond is also finding his NDIS funding to be inadequate, which means he cannot afford to have as many sessions with his exercise physiologist as he needs. He has been told he can pay for the extra sessions himself, but having to ‘live on $40 a day’, this is not an option for him.
Raymond said, ‘All Government departments need to have the training on what it means to be disabled, and the limitations we face, so they understand our needs instead of first thinking about the amount of money they can save by not funding us properly’.
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.