Mimi
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‘Various procedures that are normally provided by registered nurses to people in the community are now being allocated to support workers who are employed by NDIS providers.’
Mimi is a registered nurse working in the community. She told the Royal Commission she is concerned disability support workers are replacing registered nurses because they are ‘cheaper to use’.
She said NDIS providers are using support workers to perform ‘high risk tasks’ that in her opinion should only be performed by nurses.
These tasks include mixing and administering subcutaneous injections, mixing and administering medications via feeding tubes, medicating patients who are having seizures, suctioning and cleaning tracheostomy tubes, inserting and removing catheters and administering restricted drugs.
Mimi doesn’t believe support workers are adequately trained to do these tasks. She trained for four years to become a nurse. She had to learn about the body systems and pass exams ‘for authorities to believe [she is] not a risk to the general public’. Support workers on the other hand, study for a fraction of the time to complete a certificate 3 in disability services. ‘This qualification is not high enough to work with severely sick people.’
Instead of working as nurses, Mimi said, registered nurses are being employed to train support workers. Private organisations are ‘popping up all over’ offering training. However these are not accredited courses, she said, and each will have their own standards.
‘Registered nurse care is being undermined … this is so wrong and dangerous to the client and it needs investigating.’
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.