Lynette
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.
Lynette, late 50s, was born with spina bifida and had her first hip replacement in her 20s. She has spinal issues, knee issues and arthritis, cataracts in one eye and glaucoma in the other eye. She needs support to read and write, and cannot walk unassisted.
Until recently, Lynette lived independently with ‘drop in support’.
Then she had a couple of falls and needed more support.
‘I had live-in support at home and then it became too much because I was on oxygen 24/7.’
Lynette moved into supported accommodation with two men.
She found it very difficult to give up her independence and to say goodbye to her pets. Most of the time she felt unsafe and vulnerable living in the house.
Staff spent their shifts sitting on the couch talking to each other, or on their phones.
‘They would just do their own things, muck around and chat and all that. That’s constant all the time. It felt like you would be lost in your house.’
When staff did help her they never spoke to her.
‘They would talk over you. They're dealing with you but they're talking about what they’ve done and what they're gonna do. It’s like you're just a bit of meat.’
At night time there was only one staff member on site, and they were allowed to sleep because it was a non-active house. There was no way to contact them during the night.
Lynette would sing out or bang on doors to try and get their attention when she needed to use the bathroom. They either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her. Lynette was given bottles to urinate in, and most nights she was left alone for 12 hours with no support.
By the time it was morning Lynette was a mess.
A lot of the staff were ‘dodgy’. They were meant to be provide one-on-one support but they’d go to the pub to play the pokies while they were being paid to support Lynette. They would only come back towards the end of their shift when it was time for them to handover.
Once, a staff member dropped Lynette’s medication on the floor. They picked it up off the floor, wiped it on their pants and tried to give it to her. Lynette refused.
Staff regularly smoked outside her bedroom, despite her being on an oxygen machine.
There was no fire evacuation plan for Lynette. When she told staff she was worried about what would happen to her if there was a fire, they joked and told her they’d put the hose on her.
‘If I made a formal complaint about anything, they'd never look into it. Nothing ever got done about it.’
Staff would treat her like a troublemaker.
One staff member told Lynette, ‘Piss off from this house and get out. This is our house.’
After a few months, the provider told her that they didn’t have the staff or the equipment to help her transfer in and out of bed.
‘I was in bed the whole three months. I had not had a shower in three months. I had not been taken to the toilet in three months. I've not even washed my hair.’
Eventually the provider told Lynette they could no longer care for her and tried to get her to transfer to their aged care facility.
Lynette didn’t want to move to aged care.
She had NDIS supported independent living (SIL) funding and asked them to help her find somewhere else.
The provider refused to help and continued to push their aged care facility.
Lynette changed SIL providers and was able to find a property in the same area.
Lynette is happier and feels like she’s looked after better and is more supported by the staff.
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.