Ita and Cristina
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.
Ita is in her early 60s and has early onset dementia.
‘She was still laughing and joking around and she went on daily walks … she was still living at home with my dad,’ her mum Cristina told the Royal Commission. ‘I should also mention that my mum is legally blind so that is another added complication.’
Ita recently fell in the shower.
‘The paramedics came and assessed mum and kind of said, “She’s fine.” So they popped her back into [bed].’
The next day, Ita was unable to move and Cristina’s dad called the ambulance again.
‘My mum had to wait six hours [for the ambulance] … Because she had dementia and she comes across as someone who has dementia, I think that this was disability discrimination.’
The hospital discovered Ita had broken her hip and needed surgery. She later developed a urinary tract infection (UTI).
‘They didn’t actually treat her UTI for a week, you know. And they weren’t giving her any sort of medication … UTIs can cause delirium and have very serious impacts on a person with dementia.’
Cristina said her mother’s behaviour deteriorated and staff struggled to give her physiotherapy. When Cristina and her father offered to help during a COVID-19 lockdown, the hospital denied them exemptions to attend therapy, even though they were allowed to visit to help feed Ita.
‘Like, she’s responding in these ways because she doesn’t know these people, they are strangers and she is stuck in a place she doesn’t recognise … Every time I was there, she was calm. Every time.’
The doctors eventually decided to stop Ita’s physiotherapy.
‘They’re saying, “Well, she has advanced dementia. We can’t do that therapy. She’s too combative. She’s too aggressive” … There was a lot of dismissal of her needs and I think it’s because she has dementia, you know, and they put her in the too-hard basket from pretty much the moment she arrived.’
Cristina said the hospital staff ‘didn’t have the patience’ and gave Ita antipsychotic medication to restrain her.
‘They didn’t explain to her what was happening, they didn’t even tell her what they were doing to her … People treat their animals better than they treat people with dementia.’
Cristina said Ita can’t go home because she is now bed-bound.
Cristina and her father applied to the NDIS for support, which ‘at the start was amazing’.
‘The hospital is adamant that mum needs two carers … We were looking at supported independent living and supported disability accommodation because those seem suitable with two carers. The NDIS said, “Well, that’s too much. We can’t pay for two carers. It’s too expensive.”’
Cristina said neither the hospital nor the NDIS are supporting Ita appropriately.
‘This is a woman who went into the hospital joking and laughing and dancing and singing. And they refused to give her the care that would mean that she could leave hospital and go back home because they just said, “She’s too demented,” pretty much, you know, which wasn’t the case.’
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.