Mindy
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.
Mindy is in her 40s, has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair.
‘The majority of people with spina bifida [who use wheelchairs] end up in hospital quite regularly,’ Mindy told the Royal Commission.
The trouble is that ambulances usually can’t take wheelchairs with them, so patients become bed-bound in hospital.
‘Some end up staying there longer if they don't have their chair because of pressure sores.’
Mindy said she knows people with spina bifida who won’t go to hospital ‘because they want to avoid not having their chair’.
‘If you show up to hospital without a chair … if you're in a bed and being wheeled in, they don't know you can't walk. I've had friends who were told to, “Get up and walk around,” said they can't and actually get yelled at.’
People using wheelchairs usually have to organise a friend or family member to bring in their wheelchair to hospital.
‘[But] a friend of mine … didn't have family or friends that could help him … and the ambulance took no responsibility for taking his wheelchair and they said to him, “Well you can put it in a taxi.”’
To transfer between hospitals he also had to pay for a taxi to take his wheelchair separately, which he couldn’t afford.
‘If he wasn't in the taxi with his wheelchair he couldn't use vouchers so it would've cost him over $100 to get from one [hospital] to another.’
Mindy said there needs to be a better policy for ‘letting the first responders know there's a wheelchair’ and having a way to bring it with the person who needs it.
‘[But] that relies on the person being conscious enough to be able to say, “This is where my chair is,” and having a support network and having an NDIS plan. Not all people have any of those,’ Mindy told the Royal Commission.
‘It's complex and it's not easy to fix, but it's unreasonable to expect that people just leave their wheelchair [behind].’
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.