Noe
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When Noe was 17 he had a workplace accident that badly injured his back. He is in his early 40s now, and for the past 20 years or so he has been unable to work. He experiences pain every day, he told the Royal Commission. He manages it with medication and rest.
Noe receives a Disability Support Pension and NDIS funding. He spent years trying to access this support. To prove to doctors, specialists and other health services that his disability is genuine, he had to participate in numerous pain management and rehabilitation programs, sometimes for up to a year, and sometimes more than once.
Noe kept records of his interactions with the medical profession – ‘for my own sanity,’ he said.
These reveal doctors and specialists doubting Noe’s account of his experience and ignoring his concerns. His GP, in particular, was not supportive. He paid no attention to Noe’s requests for scans and other tests, reporting to other health professionals that there was no particular need for any clinical investigation and making negative comments about Noe.
‘He is not the brightest of men,’ he wrote in one referral.
The GP’s reports were also contradictory. For WorkCover, he wrote one saying Noe was fit for modified duties. When he wrote to an occupational therapist, he said Noe had been investigated thoroughly – which Noe disputes – and that he was unfit for all work.
Noe summed up his situation over this time as participating in ‘multiple different programs’ that he was ‘unable physically to do’. His doctor ignored the evidence of his disc problems.
‘He didn’t think they were major problems, and that’s why they said we had to go through rehabilitation … I went through so many years of different rehabilitation clinics – I was sent all over the place.’
A physiotherapist reported back to the GP that Noe could not do even the lightest of exercise, but the GP ‘didn’t take any note of that’, saying he ‘doesn’t believe more or less the impact of what the disc problems are showing that I can’t do the things’.
Noe tried to change his GP but couldn’t find anyone who would take him on.
‘When I’ve rang up and I’ve actually attended other GPs, they say, “Go back and see your other doctor because we don’t know your history. It’s too long.”’
Noe believes his GP’s communications about him ‘severely impacted’ his care. Specialists did not assess him with an open mind, contributing to his difficulties accessing support payments and NDIS funding.
Several years ago he had to undergo yet another review of his disability pension. The doctor he saw read through his file.
‘He goes, “What are you even doing here for a review?” He goes, “You don’t need to be here.” He goes, “I’m just going to sign this, and you don’t have to worry.” That’s a doctor that could see everything that I’d been through and – and that was hugely helpful to me.’
Noe has a different GP now, as the previous one left the practice. His issues with the system continue. He has several health problems that have been dismissed by medical professionals. The NDIS is refusing to pay for equipment he needs.
‘These are just all ongoing things,’ he said.
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.