Bryan

Bryan has Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and type 1 diabetes. He needs daily insulin injections.

Bryan lives in a group home managed by a service provider. He needs a support worker to carefully manage and administer the correct dose of insulin each day.

Recently, Bryan told the Royal Commission, one of the staff gave Bryan the wrong dose of insulin, which was also three years past its expiry date. This had a catastrophic effect. He had two hyperglycaemic events and required urgent medical intervention from the ambulance service.

Bryan and his mother complained to the service provider who ‘conducted a full medication audit in accordance with their policies and procedures’. His mother also requested diabetes-specific training.

As a result of the training, the provider has implemented new policies and practices around the administration of medication.

While the provider has made changes, Bryan is concerned that it has a poor track record implementing verbal agreements. He would like a written document to guarantee the provider implements all action plans within an acceptable timeframe. There also needs to be ‘accurate documentation relating to [his] wellbeing and any necessary requirements’.

Bryan believes much of the neglect and abuse in the group home happens because staff are poorly educated.

The vetting and training of support workers needs to be urgently prioritised and improved. This needs to include education about the rights of family members, enduring power of attorney, enduring guardianship and advocacy. ‘On many occasions my caregivers have displayed a complete ignorance of these subjects,’ he said.

He would also like the needs of family members to be better recognised, and for staff to ‘actively develop sound relationships’ with them.

Bryan hopes that one day there will be a disability system that gives him ‘the same rights, monetary advantages, a safe living environment, recognises [his] social needs, physical and mental health provisions as that of an able‐bodied person’.