Catriona
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Catriona is in her 40s and lives with depression, fibromyalgia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. She uses a mobility scooter.
‘When I stand up my blood pressure drops and I just pass out,’ Catriona told the Royal Commission.
More than a decade ago, when Catriona was in an abusive relationship and became depressed, doctors admitted her to a hospital mental health unit. She said the staff didn’t understand that she also had a physical disability and refused to acknowledge a letter from a specialist describing her difficulty walking and her blood pressure condition.
‘[A psychiatrist] said, “I’m not going to read the letter.” And … then he just went away.’
Catriona said she later asked for a bedpan, but staff insisted she walk to the toilet.
‘I started to crawl over. They watched me crawl to the toilet and then they said, “There’s no need to crawl. You can get up and walk.” And so I tried to walk and then I passed out.’
When Catriona’s pulse climbed to 200 beats per minute, staff refused to give her water. When she continued to ask for help, they stopped responding and left her in her room.
‘In the end I had to call an ambulance from outside [the mental health unit] and tell them what was going on. And then the ambulance came … and as soon as they got to me they put me on oxygen and an IV drip into me and took me to [another] hospital.’
Catriona said because the mental health nurses didn’t understand ‘the cross over between mental and physical health’ she can no longer trust mental health units to treat her appropriately.
‘I went straight back to the domestic violence situation at home, which people with disabilities are, you know, more vulnerable to.’
Several years ago, doctors again admitted Catriona to a mental health unit.
‘I was told I was quite depressed and I was told that they would try me on a new antidepressant medication.’
In the morning, because of her physical condition, she struggled to wake up and the mental health nurses left her in bed. When Catriona’s heart started racing, a nurse who said she wasn’t ‘trained in medical stuff’ told her not to worry.
When doctors eventually transferred her to a medical ward, the nurses there ‘weren’t trained for mental health’.
‘The nurses there were like, “Now you’re going to be a good girl and you’re going to behave, aren’t you? You’re not going to be suicidal?” … and that’s a really inappropriate thing to say to someone who has a mental health issue.’
Catriona said she can’t get appropriate care in hospital because staff are trained in either medical or mental health care, but not both.
‘People with disabilities have mental health issues because of the high rate of domestic violence, the high rate of having a hard life … [but] there is no accessibility for someone with physical disability to be able to go into the mental health unit and get the help they need.’
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.