Matieu
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.
Matieu is in his 60s. His primary diagnosis is paranoid schizophrenia and he has been an inpatient at a psychiatric ward for the last few years. Matieu is unsure why he is there, and even more uncertain as to how long he’ll be staying there.
‘I’ve been locked up unnecessarily,’ he said. ‘I have stress problems and sometimes ... I overreact, I get a bit wild, [and] I raise my voice.’
Matieu told the Royal Commission his disability has been ‘mislabelled’, and that he was admitted to the psychiatric hospital against his will.
Matieu’s wife raised concerns following an argument where he picked up a butterknife and held it against his stomach. ‘That’s ridiculous,’ he said. ‘I’m no threat ... I’ve never hurt anybody.’
Matieu says there is very little to do in the ward. He is not allowed to raise his voice with the staff, the food is bland and he is ‘sick of doing the same thing[s]’ all the time. He shares a room with another patient, with a fabric curtain for privacy.
‘I shouldn’t even be here, you know, I haven’t got schizophrenia, I’ve got stress and they – they’ve had me here for three years ... it’s very restrictive.’
Matieu’s NDIS package provides for his support worker to take him shopping once a week and drive him home for a couple of hours on the weekend.
Matieu says ‘shopping’ is not his idea of fun, and it ‘would be a lot better’ if he could spend more time at home.
Matieu has been to the Mental Health Review Tribunal twice, seeking to be released from the ward. He says he wasn’t ‘given enough time and consideration to speak’ at the hearings, and he’s uncertain what his future holds.
‘[I] don’t know when I’m – I’m not told anything,’ he said. ‘All I want to do is go home to my wife ... and live at home [again].’
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.