Kiefer and Lilly

Kiefer and his sister Lilly lived in different states. Kiefer didn’t like the phone and didn’t have a mobile phone or computer so communication was infrequent.

Kiefer, in his 50s, lived with schizophrenia and other disabilities. He managed his schizophrenia with a regular injection from his GP. There were a number of people and organisations he interacted with on a regular basis.

Lily told the Royal Commission, ‘I reassured myself that he had a cleaner and a registered nurse going into his home, as well as a support coordinator who organised the services he required. I made the assumption that someone would ring me if something was amiss.’

Every year, Lilly sent Kiefer a birthday present. One year, when she didn’t hear from him, she became concerned.

‘Every year without fail he rang me to thank me for the present,’ she explained.

After ringing him repeatedly, she asked the local police to do a welfare check.

‘That night at 10 pm [local] police knocked on my door and told me that [Kiefer] was dead. The most shocking part was that he had been dead for months.’

Kiefer’s body was so badly decomposed that a full autopsy was not possible.

Lilly couldn’t comprehend how this had happened. Kiefer had received services from a community organisation for 35 years.

‘This was a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary service that provided regular check-ins and support through a psychiatrist, social workers, qualified staff and, most importantly, case management. Whenever I had concerns about [Kiefer] throughout this period, I was able to easily make contact with a social worker and these issues were followed up.’

When Lilly started to investigate Kiefer’s death she discovered this service closed a few years before Kiefer died.

Kiefer had been transferred to another mental health service, but this service discharged him. When Lilly accessed the discharge notes through freedom of information, she discovered Kiefer had been encouraged to discharge himself. Staff told him he seemed well.

The service referred him to a medical practice with mental health services, but the information they gave him was out of date and the practice had closed.

Additionally, Kiefer’s only friend had died and no-one told him.

Kiefer was alone. He died not long after being discharged from the mental health service.

‘I believe it was the discharge from mental health services that is the key factor that led to [Kiefer]’s death. [He] should never have been discharged as he was extremely isolated and experienced psychosis, at times living in his backyard.’

Lilly also questioned why Kiefer’s regular GP didn’t intervene. The clinic made no inquires when he didn’t appear for his weekly injection.

Nor can she understand why his NDIS support coordinator didn’t raise the alarm. Around the time of his death Kiefer failed to attend a review meeting, causing his NDIS payment to be stopped.

‘There appeared to be no effort made to find out why [Kiefer] did not attend this meeting … It appears that my brother died shortly after his NDIS funding was discontinued.’

The coordinator told Lilly they had trouble contacting Kiefer because his phone had been disconnected. But Lilly contacted the telco who told her the phone was connected.

‘I believe that [Kiefer]’s schizophrenia made him invisible and the neglect he experienced was normalised, rationalised and condoned by those whose task it was to care for him.’

Lilly believes the neglect Kiefer experienced continued after his death. She says the police failed to investigate her brother’s death properly, reducing it do a ‘level of insignificance’.

While dealing with the coroner, Lilly was asked to use the case number, not his name. ‘This process is dehumanising,’ she said. And not knowing how Kiefer died ‘is unacceptable’.