Fraser and Giselle
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.
‘My [Fraser] suffered through many years of poor health care services, had variable care in hospital in his final weeks, and suffered terribly because he was not given adequate pain relief due to the attitudes of the nurses at the hospital … His final weeks were a culmination of many years of abuse and neglect by health professionals.’
Giselle wrote to the Royal Commission about the experiences of her brother, Fraser, in the healthcare system. Fraser was around 50 when he died.
Fraser had Down syndrome, an intellectual disability and complex health issues that were ‘complicated by poor health care over many years’. Giselle told us that some of Fraser’s additional health issues, such as poor hearing and vision, were treatable conditions ‘had he been given just mediocre health care’.
Giselle said there was an inconsistency in the way Fraser and his family were treated by hospital staff.
‘Sometimes he would be given pain relief and then at other times he was ignored. The family were keen to support his care in the hospital, sometimes this was allowed and at other times we were asked to leave despite being assured we were not interfering with care or other patients in the ward.’
In the weeks leading to Fraser’s death, Giselle approached hospital administration about a particular episode in relation to the support Fraser was receiving in the ward, but she says ‘this resulted in less care and pain relief for him’.
Giselle would like to see ‘people with disability have the same access to the full range of health services that all Australians have, including a dignified death’, and for healthcare professionals to be educated to ‘treat people with disability as humans’.
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.