Stan and Tyrell
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.
One night in the early 2020s Stan, who was in a wheelchair, tried to reach a can of Pepsi on the floor. The safety belt was too loose and he slid forward, ending up slumped over the belt. He didn’t have the strength to lift himself upright. Stan died in hospital a week later. He was in his mid-30s.
Tyrell had been Stan’s support worker five years earlier. Stan had cerebral palsy and when Tyrell worked with him he was well supported by his service provider. Stan was in his 20s at the time and unwell. The provider helped him find a place to live and reconnect with his family. ‘He had access to therapy sessions, timely doctor check-ups and … easy access to available resources,’ Tyrell told the Royal Commission.
Then in the mid-2010s a former employee of the provider set up her own business. She began to recruit clients and got Stan to sign a service agreement. Tyrell said she did this without consulting his next of kin. She argued Stan was capable of making his own decisions. There was nothing his old provider or the support workers who had been with him for many years could do.
The woman employed her family members as support workers.
‘Some of them [were] even as young as 17-years-old without prior experiences, no training, no safety measures in place to deal with complex health needs of people,’ Tyrell said.
When Tyrell tried to visit Stan, the new support workers abused him and told him ‘to get out of their house’.
‘The house was a total mess.’
Neighbours told Tyrell that Stan was using marijuana ‘heavily’ and the workers encouraged him.
‘He failed to attend appointments and therapy sessions as [the new provider] considered “having a fun day” superseded the importance of his health.’
A former colleague did manage to see Stan a few times over the years and told Tyrell that Stan and his dog appeared to be malnourished. He said Stan ‘had lost half of his body weight and his hand coordination’. He appeared to be surviving on Pepsi, burgers and chips.
‘[Stan] had been totally neglected, his care rights taken away from him, deprived of dignity as he would wet his pants and he would sit in it for hours. He had been deprived of access to basic health care facilities, either by choice or by the failure to uphold their duty of care.’
Stan died because of neglect, Tyrell said. Left in the chair all night the pressure of the safety belt caused internal injuries.
‘He would have been alive if [a support worker] had properly restrained him onto his chair, or would have put him to bed before [they] went home, or would have educated him on the use of a panic button.’
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.