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Australia

E-scooters help Australia’s net-zero goals, but medics warn about long-term injuries

Two e-scooters parked with a beach backdrop

Traumatic brain injuries, severe dislocations, and broken bones are some of the injuries Graeme Maw has seen come through the Townsville University Hospital from electric scooter (e-scooter) accidents.

Emergency physician Dr Maw says staff would support a ban on the two-wheeled devices, as new research shows half of the riders are making potentially life-threatening decisions on Queensland roads.

He said approximately one person per day was presenting to the hospital with injuries ranging from skin abrasions to significant head trauma.

“Lots and lots of soft tissue injury, extensive grazing and abrasions. Lots and lots of lacerations that require suturing up,” Dr Maw said.

“Often, these patients go on to suffer relatively significant long-term impacts from these sort of injuries.

“There was one young man who came off a scooter after drinking. He came in deeply unconscious and was sent to intensive care. He went from being a functioning member of society with a job to spending months and months in hospital and rehabilitation.”

A serious looking middle-aged man with slicked back hair, standing in hospital ward with equipment, wearing blue scrubs.
Dr Maw says about one person per day presents with an e-scooter injury.(Supplied)

The Townsville University Hospital has been collecting data on the frequency of e-scooter accidents since the ride-sharing devices arrived in the city in 2020.

Dr Maw said about 50 per cent of patients presenting to an emergency were not wearing a helmet, and more than 75 per cent were under the influence of alcohol when an incident occurred.

The data showed 70 per cent of patients presenting to the hospital with e-scooter injuries were male, with the majority in the 18–30 age group.

Man rides e-scooter down a tree-lined street.
The data shows 70 per cent of patients presenting to Townsville University Hospital with e-scooter injuries are male.(ABC North Queensland: Rachael Merritt)

But Dr Maw said the true extent of cases was being under-reported.

“It’s not just the people riding the scooters. We’ve had a few innocent bystanders knocked over,” he said.

“Not everybody who comes off an e-scooter ends up going to the emergency department.

“A lot of patients head to GPs, private hospitals, and some may not seek medical attention at all.”

Calls for help becoming ‘more frequent’

Queensland Ambulance Senior Operations Supervisor Wayne Paxton, from the Townsville district, said paramedics were responding to an e-scooter crash at least once or twice a week.

“It’s starting to become more and more frequent over the weeks and weekends,” Mr Paxton said.

“The types of injuries we deal with can vary from a small cut or abrasion to something like a head injury or fractured leg or shoulder injury.”

Purple e-scooters lined up in front of palm trees with helmets.
Doctors say they have seen cases of traumatic brain injury in Townsville since the scooters were introduced.(ABC North Queensland: Rachael Merritt)

Amid the rising cost of fuel, Mr Paxton said more regional Queenslanders were choosing the cost-effective mode of transport.

He said their popularity would likely continue to rise but warned riders to be aware of the risks.

“I’ve been to accidents where the helmet has been on, but they haven’t done the strap up, and it has come off during the fall,” he said.

“If we don’t have the right education and don’t wear protective equipment … it can certainly lead to serious injuries and, worst-case scenario, more deaths.”

Safety not being taken seriously

With more regional Queensland cities such as Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg taking part in the e-scooter rollout, a recent survey by the state’s peak motoring body found half of the riders admitted to reckless driving behaviour.

Andrew Kirk, principal technical researcher at RACQ, said a crackdown on non-compliant e-scooter users was needed to improve safety, as well as a stronger education campaign.

“Nearly one in 10 riders have had an accident, and over half of those have been injured,” he said.

“That comes down to lack of safety equipment, going too fast and riding in the wrong areas.”

Close up of red safety sign on e-scooter saying ride safely, park responsibly, don't block path, with figures depicting action.
A statewide survey of e-scooter users by RACQ found only a third of riders were aware of the road rules.(ABC North Queensland: Lily Nothling)

Mr Kirk said RACQ had been in talks with e-scooter rental companies to incorporate new technologies, such as onboard cameras, to improve user safety and did not want to see them pulled from the streets.

“It’s getting cars off the road, so it’s reducing vehicle emissions and reducing traffic congestion,” he said.

“They do have a big role to play in Australia’s net-zero goals.

“Most bike riders have adapted to the fact you have to have a helmet on, but for e-scooters we just need to change that mentality to get people to do the right thing.”

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Australia

New mobile clinic to treat homeless with chronic health problems who are living on Sydney’s streets

A man wearing a beanie

For Peter Carroll, managing his chronic health conditions is hard enough, but being homeless as well can make the barriers feel insurmountable.

Mr Carroll lives with arthritis and thrombocytosis, a blood disorder.

He is on a waitlist for emergency housing so he can receive a hip replacement.

“I can’t walk very well, so it’s hard to get around town and get to the doctors,” Mr Carroll said.

A new hospital-on-wheels is expected to be a game changer for Mr Carroll and many others sleeping rough on Sydney’s streets.

A truck that is brightly covered with a dot painting has a ramp leading to an open door
The van will also help people living in social housing and from Indigenous or culturally diverse backgrounds.(ABC News: Helena Burke)

The St Vincent’s Mobile Health Clinic will provide services ranging from heart and blood checks to telehealth mental health sessions.

St Vincent’s Homeless Health Service nurse unit manager Erin Longbottom says there is a huge health disparity between the general population and people experiencing homelessness.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, people experiencing homelessness face significantly higher rates of death, disability and chronic illness.

“We’re really trying to close that gap between people experiencing homelessness and the general population,” she said.

“The first thing we’re looking at with the truck is chronic diseases management — having a diabetes clinic, high-risk foot clinic, wound care, metabolic care and heart checks.”

A young woman with short dark blonde hair, wearing two T-shirts and a denim jacket smiles as she looks directly at the camera
The service will improve health equity and justice for people who are disadvantaged, according to St Vincent’s Homeless Health Service’s Erin Longbottom.(ABC News: Helena Burke)

For people such as Mr Carroll, having the mobile clinic arrive at local homeless community centers — such as Canice’s Kitchen — will mean he can get his blood checked while having a hot meal.

“It’s a lot easier and more convenient to just get checked up here than have to go through getting a doctor,” Mr Carroll said.

Canice’s Kitchen manager Carrie Deane said she expected regular visits from the health truck to be life-changing for many of the centre’s patrons.

“By bringing it here, to the place where they feel safe, they’re much more inclined to get themselves checked and take the steps necessary to really improve their health,” Ms Deane said.

Mobile health vans are nothing new for Sydney. Street Side Medics and Vinnies Vax Van have been around for a number of years now.

A man in a green beanie and hoodie sits across from a man in a mask, gloves and a puffer jacket inside the mobile clinic
Peter Carroll says visiting the mobile van is easier than trying to get an appointment with a doctor.(ABC News: Helena Burke)

However, the new mobile clinic has the space and facilities to offer more-extensive and long-term care.

Telehealth capabilities will mean nurses can consult with specialist doctors to assess whether a patient needs to linked up to specialized care.

Nurse practitioners on-site will also mean patients can get their recurring prescriptions without having to visit a GP.

The truck’s services also won’t be limited to the city’s homeless population.

People living in social housing and those from Indigenous or culturally diverse backgrounds will also be able to receive medical treatment.

“This is all about improving health equity and justice for people who are disadvantaged, marginalized and who are more likely to experience poor health outcomes because they have a lack of access to health services,” Ms Longbottom said.

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Australia

A grieving family says South Australia’s health system is broken after man’s death while waiting for ambulance

An ambulance

The family of a South Australian man who died while waiting for an ambulance on Monday night says the state’s health system is ‘broken’.

The 47-year-old father of two, Andrew, died from cardiac arrest on Monday evening in a Plympton car park, where he had pulled over and called an ambulance after experiencing chest pain.

At the request of the family, the ABC has decided not to publish a picture of him or use his last name.

His family remembers Andrew as a “much-loved” partner, friend, family man and colleague.

Nathan Hutchison, the brother of Andrew’s partner, read a statement on his behalf.

“My partner Andrew was my soul mate and loving father to our children, my heart has been torn in two and I feel broken,” the statement said.

man standing in vest with checkered shirt and glasses
Nathan Hutchison says the health system needs to be fixed. (ABCNews )

“He’s going to be deeply missed, but will always be remembered and very much loved.

“We are devastated he’s been taken so soon.”

Mr Hutchison said that the system needed to be fixed.

“It’s just devastating for us,” he said.

“It’s very hard to put it in words, clearly there’s a system that’s broken and needs to be fixed.

A divided road with palm trees in the median strip, along with directional signs. Only one car is visible and its parked
The man suffering chest pain called triple-0 after pulling over on Anzac Highway at Plympton. (ABC NewsEvelyn Manfield )

“It’s tearing up my family. Fix the system.

“We do appreciate the work the first responders did when they arrived, and the community members did when they were there.”

Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Lesley Dwyer described the “awful” incident as “an absolutely tragic outcome” and said a full investigation would take place.

TAFE SA chief executive David Coltman said Andrew had been a well-loved member of staff.

“[He] was a highly regarded manager at TAFE SA and we are deeply saddened by his sudden passing,” he said.

“TAFE SA is providing support to [his] colleagues during this difficult time and we extend our heartfelt condolences to [his] Familia.”

A woman with short brown hair wearing a beige scarf and a black top
Lesley Dwyer says discharging NDIS and aged care patients to free up hospital beds remains a priority.(ABCNews)

Acting Health Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the man’s death was “horrific” and said he would also want his elderly father to call him if he had a medical episode.

“I’ve got an elderly father and I say to him, ‘if something happens, call an ambulance and call me’,” he said.

“But that’s not the solution you’d expect in a first-world country.

“In a first-world country, we expect an ambulance to come on time when it’s [a] life-threatening situation.”

A man in a suit standing behind microphones with a road overpass behind him
Tom Koutsantonis urges the public to still call triple-0 in an emergency. (ABC News: Shari Hams)

Mr Koutsantonis said there had been a “whole-of-government” approach to address the health crisis, which included hiring more doctors and nurses, opening private beds, and moving aged care and NDIS patients out of hospital and into care.

“You gotta have faith. We still want people calling triple-0,” he said.

“In three months we’ve done a lot but in three months you can’t fix it.

“Right now there’s no-one in South Australia who’s thinking about this in political terms, they are thinking about in terms of ‘if I call an ambulance will it come in time to save my father, my mother, my child?'”

‘extreme pressure’

Ms Dwyer said the health system was “under extreme pressure on Monday afternoon with large numbers of triple-0 calls.”

“The hospitals themselves had come off a weekend where we’d been extremely busy,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide.

A white hospital building with blue and green windows, with green trees in front of it
Ambulance crews were ramped up at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for three hours on Monday, the union says.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

“And so you had two of the major metropolitan hospitals, being Flinders and the Royal Adelaide, that were really struggling to get people into the emergency department in a timely way to free up ambulances.”

SA Best MLC Frank Pangallo said he was unsure what a government inquiry would achieve “because we all know where it’s going wrong.”

“The system is broken and more people are likely to die unless something happens,” he said.

Mr Pangallo said Andrew’s death was a “tragedy, and most likely was an avoidable one”.

“We’re likely to see instances like this again,” he said.

“Waiting times have blown out to unacceptable levels.”

A man sitting behind a microphone points. There is a bottle of water next to him and a name tag
Frank Pangallo wrote to Health Minister Chris Picton last week about a different patient.(ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)

Mr Pangallo said he wrote to Health Minister Chris Picton last week about a different patient who had waited two hours for an ambulance after suffering a heart attack.

“There was another tragedy that was averted,” he said.

Mr Pangallo said his office had been told by a member of the public yesterday that a taxi had been dispatched when a triple-0 call was made.

“A family member had called for an ambulance and it wasn’t considered a high priority so a taxi was dispatched,” he said.

“I’ve heard of this happening previously as well.”

Plan alternative options, says union

SA Ambulance Employees Association secretary Leah Watkins said yesterday that South Australians should consider planning alternative options in the event of lengthy ambulance delays.

SA Ambulance Employees Association secretary Leah Watkins.
Leah Watkins says South Australians should prepare a plan for what to do in the event of a lengthy ambulance delay.(ABCNews)

“In the vast majority, people are calling triple-0 because they’re in a point of crisis and they have no other option and they should still do that if they do feel the need,” she said.

“But the ambulance service and the health system is completely overwhelmed at the moment and so if they are concerned that there is going to be a delay for them, to get help early.

“If you’re home alone, call a neighbor or a friend just to let them know what’s going on so that there’s perhaps someone that could come over and wait with you or someone that can drive you to hospital yourself.

Lesley Dwyer said while “there was nothing wrong” with Ms Watkins’ advice, “people should not be frightened of ringing” triple-0, and it should be the “first port of call” in an emergency.

“We’d certainly not advocate people hopping in a car or a taxi if they thought they had a life-threatening condition or one that was going to deteriorate on the way,” she said.

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Categories
Australia

Launceston General Hospital patient dies after being ramped for more than nine hours

A gurney sits next to an ambulance outside Launceston General Hospital.

The death of a woman in her 70s who was ramped and waiting to be admitted to a Tasmanian hospital’s emergency department for more than nine hours is “totally unacceptable” and shows the state’s health system is crumbling, a union says.

The union that represents paramedics in Tasmania said the woman was taken to the Launceston General Hospital about midnight on Friday night, and died at about 9am on Saturday.

“The patient had been ramped for nine hours at the time when they passed away, and they were still in an inappropriate setting and had not been allocated a bed at that time,” said Robbie Moore from the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) .

“This is a very sad situation that just demonstrates how bad our health system is, that we couldn’t have a bed available for a patient who clearly needed medical assistance, and shows that ambulance ramping is out of control and patients’ lives are being put at risk.”

Ambulance ramping happens when hospital emergency departments are full and cannot admit new patients.

Paramedics care for the patients they have transported in an area of ​​the hospital outside of the emergency department.

Mr Moore said the patient received care from emergency department staff while they were waiting for an ED bed to become available, and was also cared for by ambulance paramedics.

“A patient being ramped for nine hours is totally unacceptable, and demonstrates that we are letting down the Tasmanian community,” he said.

“Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident … we’re unfortunately aware of several other incidents where patients have been unable to get a bed and passed away on the ramp.”

Nursing staff ‘distraught’ at conditions in LGH emergency department

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s Tasmanian secretary Emily Shepherd said on the night the woman was brought to the hospital, the LGH’s emergency department was full, with 20 patients waiting to be admitted to beds in other parts of the hospital, about 50 people in the ED waiting room, and seven ambulances ramped up.

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Australia

WA NDIS participant Mitchell Pearce dies in Busselton hospital waiting for disability accommodation

A composite photo of a man sitting in hospital

The family of a disabled man who died after spending more than four months in hospital waiting for accommodation have described the National Disability Insurance Scheme and aged care system in Australia as “broken”.

Mitchell Pearce, 52, died on Saturday in hospice care, little more than a day after NDIS Minister Bill Shorten ordered the agency to find him appropriate accommodation as a “matter of urgency.”

His sister Justine Richmond said her brother died peacefully surrounded by people who loved him.

Mr Pearce had been in Busselton Hospital since March 29.

His family said Mr Pearce, who was disabled since suffering brain tumors as a child, had lost the will to live in hospital, and refused to eat or drink.

Vow to keep fighting

While it was too late for her brother, Mrs Richmond urged people to keep speaking up for change.

Two women stand in a home garden looking at a camera
Mr Pearce’s sister Mrs Richmond, left, and mother Judith Pearce want people to speak up and bring about structural change to the NDIS.(ABC South West: Georgia Loney)

She said since the family’s story came out on Friday she had been inundated with people wanting to share their experiences.

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Categories
Entertainment

Actor Anne Heche in hospital after car crashes into Los Angeles house, starts fire

Anne Heche smiles toward the camera at a red carpet event

Actor Anne Heche has been hospitalized after a crash in which her car smashed into a house and flames erupted, according to a friend.

“Anne is currently in a stable condition. Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and to respect her privacy during this difficult time,” Heather Duffy Boylston, Heche’s friend and podcast partner, said in a statement.

Earlier reports suggested Heche was in hospital in a critical condition.

Heche’s speeding car came to a T-shaped intersection and ran off the road and into the house in the Mar Vista section of Los Angeles’ westside shortly before 11am Friday, Los Angeles police officer Tony Im said.

The car came to a stop inside the two-storey house and started a fire that took nearly 60 firefighters more than an hour to put out, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

The LAFD reported that the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was rescued after being critically injured in the crash.

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Television news video showed a blue Mini Cooper Clubman, badly damaged and burned, being towed out of the home, with a woman sitting up on a stretcher and struggling as firefighters put her in an ambulance.

No other injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made. Police are investigating.

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A native of Ohio, Heche first came to prominence on the US soap opera Another World from 1987 to 1991.

She won a Daytime Emmy Award for the role.

In the late 1990s, she became one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, a constant on magazine covers and in big-budget films.

She co-starred with Johnny Depp in 1997’s Donnie Brasco; with Tommy Lee Jones in 1997’s Volcano; with Harrison Ford in 1998’s Six Days, Seven Nights; with Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in 1998’s Return to Paradise, and with an ensemble cast in the original 1997 I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000 heightened her fame and brought immense public scrutiny.

Ellen Degeneres cocks her head to the side and looks at Anne Heche as Heche smiles
Anne Heche (right) had a high-profile relationship with Ellen Degeneres in the late 1990s. (AFP: Hector Mata)

In the fall of 2000, soon after the two broke up, Heche was hospitalized after knocking on the door of a stranger in a rural area near Fresno, California.

Authorities said she had appeared shaken and disoriented, speaking incoherently to the residents.

In a memoir released the following year, Call Me Crazy, Heche talked about her lifelong struggles with mental health and a childhood of abuse.

She was married to camera operator Coleman Laffoon from 2001 to 2009.

The two had a son together.

She had another son during a relationship with actor James Tupper, her co-star on the TV series Men In Trees.

He has worked consistently in smaller films, on Broadway, and TV shows in the past two decades.

She recently had recurring roles on the network series Chicago PD and All Rise, and in 2020 was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars.

Better Together, the podcast hosted by Heche and Duffy Boylston, is described online as a celebration of friendship.

ABC/wires

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Categories
Australia

SA government to use former aged care home to help transition NDIS patients out of hospital

A tram in front of a white hospital building with green and yellow trees

A former aged care home will be used to transition NDIS patients who no longer need acute medical care out of hospital in a bid to free up capacity across South Australia’s overwhelmed health system.

The state’s hospitals continue to face unprecedented pressure, with 341 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19, including 11 who are in intensive care.

There have also been 984 people hospitalized with the flu this year.

The new 24-bed community care facility will open next week at the former site of Uniting SA’s Regency Green aged care home.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the new facility would provide transitional care to NDIS patients with a psychosocial disability while they received mental health support.

“It’s going to give a much more peaceful and calming environment for them, the appropriate care that’s going to be provided by CLO (Community Living Options) but also making sure we are freeing up those beds,” he said.

A woman wearing a purple blazer and purple lipstick with a serious expression
SA’s Human Services Minister Nat Cook says some NDIS patients have been waiting in hospital for over a year. (abcnews)

There are currently 127 patients in public hospital beds who are eligible for NDIS support services and ready to be discharged.

“These are people who it has been difficult to find elsewhere because they do need appropriate supports,” Mr Picton said.

“These are people who have NDIS clearance, are medically cleared to be discharged from hospital but there simply aren’t places for them to go.”

The facility will cost $1.2 million to open and will initially only take patients from Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN).

It will be run by CLO in partnership with Wellbeing SA, Uniting SA, CALHN and the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist.

Human Services Minister Nat Cook said for some NDIS patients, hospital could worsen conditions and escalate behaviours.

“These people, some of them have remained in hospital not just for weeks and months but for over a year,” she said.

“They have been stuck in other step-down facilities as well without pathways or coordinated journeys for discharge to home.”

A woman with short brown hair wearing a beige scarf and a black top
COVID acute commander Lesley Dwyer says 230 patients have been moved out of hospital and into aged care facilities. (abcnews)

Acute System Response COVID Commander Lesley Dwyer said in the last few weeks, 57 NDIS patients had been discharged into more appropriate accommodation.

“Accommodation that is much more home-like gives people a chance to really experience independence that they probably haven’t had while they have been in the acute system,” she said.

“In addition to that, we have also discharged 230 people into aged care beds.”

The latest data from the SA Ambulance Service shows ambulances spent 3,647 hours ramped outside hospitals during July.

The previous month, SA recorded its worst ramping times on record with 3,838 hours lost waiting for beds to become available.

The state recorded 2,421 new cases of COVID-19 today and eight deaths of patients ranging in age from their 60s to 90s.

There are currently 17,647 active cases in the state.

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Australia

Melbourne mum seeks quick-thinking ‘good Samaritans’ who helped toddler get urgent care

A photo of a toddler looking at the camera

A Melbourne mother is seeking two “good Samaritans” who helped her 20-month-old son get urgent medical care after he had a seizure while she was driving.

Madeleine Crawford was driving her son Stirling to the Royal Children’s Hospital emergency department on Wednesday, August 3 about 1:50pm.

She told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne her son had been off food and drink for a day and a half, had a fever, chesty cough and was struggling to breathe.

“The GP had done a thorough examination and said sometimes even though you can’t treat the underlying virus, they need help with hydration and breathing,” Ms Crawford said.

“He recommended we get him checked by the pediatricians at the Royal Children’s Hospital.”

But while they were stopped at Churchill Ave waiting to turn right onto Ballarat Road in Maidstone, Ms Crawford noticed her son having a seizure in the rear-view mirror.

“I looked over my shoulder … eyes opening, closing, and rolling, legs jerking and convulsing — everything,” she said.

“It was very distressing. In that moment I thought I could lose him.”

‘Good Samaritans’ arrive to help

Ms Crawford jumped out of the car and got Stirling from the back seat.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

PlayAudio. Duration: 8 minutes 48 seconds

Melbourne mum searches for ‘good Samaritans’ who came to her aid when her son had a seizure

She cleared out her airways while “gesturing madly” at the traffic behind her.

Stirling then vomited on her and went limp.

“I just stepped onto the median strip and was just holding him not knowing really what to do,” Ms Crawford said.

She asked a man in the car behind hers to call an ambulance, but then a woman approached her.

“I explained I was already on the way to the hospital, but my boy had a seizure, and I didn’t want to put him down,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

A selfie of a young mum with her toddler smiling at the camera
Ms Crawford wants to thank the couple who came to her aid.(Supplied: Madeleine Crawford)

The woman then suggested she could sit in the back seat holding Stirling while Ms Crawford drove to the hospital.

The woman’s partner escorted them in his own car, driving in front with his hazard lights on.

They made it to Footscray hospital where Ms Crawford ran inside, and Stirling was immediately triaged by the nurses.

“I could feel that moment slipping where I wouldn’t be able to get their details because my focus was obviously on my son,” she said.

“But I just looked at them and said, ‘Thank you so much, I’m forever in your debt’.

“And that’s where it was left.”

Wants to ‘thank them properly’

Ms Crawford said Stirling has returned home from hospital and is much better.

He was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which is rising among children across Australia.

But she cannot help but think about the “good Samaritans” who came to her aid.

She is calling out to anyone who may know the couple, who she believes are in their 50s, of Asian descent and driving a small black sedan, to get in touch.

“Their quick, clear thinking and calm demeanour helped ensure that I was able to get my son the medical attention he needed as soon as possible,” Ms Crawford said

“My husband and I are forever in their debt and want to be able to thank them properly.”

If you know this couple, please email [email protected].

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Categories
Australia

NDIS participant Mitchell Pearce’s family fear he will die in hospital waiting for a home

A woman in her 60's or 70's in a green jumper standing close to a younger man with a red gingham shirt

The family of a disabled man who has spent more than four months in a Western Australian hospital waiting for supported housing has described navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme as “heartbreaking”.

Mitchell Pearce, 52, has been at the Busselton Health Campus since March 29.

His sister said he had lost the will to live — a decline she said was potentially hastened by months in hospital.

Disability advocates claim more than 1,000 NDIS patients are effectively stuck in hospital because of delays in finding funding or suitable accommodation, and due to difficulties in navigating the system.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said yesterday he had asked the National Disability Insurance Agency to find Mr Pearce suitable accommodation “as a matter of urgency”.

Judith Pearce said her much-loved son, who is disabled after battling brain tumors as a child, had been admitted to hospital after a series of falls that meant he could no longer live at home.

A fair-skinned woman who is aged 80, has fair hair, and a black jumper. It's just her face de ella-she has a serious expression
Judith Pearce says dealing with the NDIS has been heartbreaking.(ABC South West: Georgia Loney)

While Mr Pearce was eligible for NDIS funding, the only suitable accommodation offered was in Perth or Bunbury — far away from his support network.

She said she couldn’t fault the care given in hospital, but said her son had become non-responsive and was refusing to eat or drink.

“He was quite buoyant and quite happy at the situation when he first went in,” she said.

“But I think being there for so long in this situation he has got really depressed and got down.

“Now it’s really just too late, I think for Mitchell.”

A composite photo of a man sitting in hospital
Mitchell Pearce’s family says he has deteriorated since being admitted to hospital four months ago.(Supplied)

Mrs Pearce described the situation with the NDIS as heartbreaking.

“I think they have just let us go for far too long,” she said.

“I thought if perhaps we’d been there at maybe a month that something would have been resolved.”

She said the length of the stay had been devastating.

“All through all Mitchell’s illnesses, we’ve always had something to fight for. But this time, we haven’t,” she said.

‘Inhumane, inflexible’ system

Mr Peace’s sister Justine Richmond said the NDIS system was so inflexible it was inhumane.

She said her brother could not be assessed for going into a local nursing home without being “released” from the NDIS, as he was too young.

A younger woman in her 50's with a gray poncho and her mother in a gray top, are sitting on a couch looking at a photo
Justine Richmond and Judith Pearce say navigating the NDIS has been stressful.(ABC South West: Georgia Loney)

“Right back in April, when we first started having meetings about trying to find residential care for Mitchell, they acknowledged that we could go through this lengthy process, and that aged care might be the only outcome,” she said.

“But we still had to go through the process, even though this was a person who was stuck in hospital for months and months now.”

She said the NDIS needed to be able to deal more quickly with individual circumstances.

“It’s a very regimented situation… so if something doesn’t exactly fit their criteria, it doesn’t happen,” she said.

Not a unique situation

Persons with Disabilities Australia president Sam Connor said it was unacceptable disabled people were facing such long delays to be discharged from hospital because of systemic issues with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

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Categories
Australia

Bupa patients worried Ramsay Health Care hospital dispute will leave them out-of-pocket

signage outside hospital with blue sky

A funding dispute between one of Australia’s largest private hospital operators and a major insurer could result in millions of people being out of pocket if they need treatment.

A contract between insurance giant Bupa and Ramsay Health Care, which operates 72 hospitals and day surgeries across Australia, expired on Tuesday after months of negotiations failed to secure an agreement.

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman has offered to mediate between the parties.

It has left Bupa customers, including Sue Burrin from the NSW far north coast, angry and confused.

“It has really thrown me,” she said.

“You would think in this day and age you could come up with an agreement and it obviously hasn’t happened.”

The Banora Point resident recently had surgery for breast cancer and was receiving follow up radiation treatment across the Queensland border at Ramsay Health Care’s John Flynn Hospital on the Gold Coast.

“If I need a follow up with my doctor or at John Flynn, I’m in a quandary as I can’t use that hospital,” Ms Burrin said.

“I have to go public at Tweed Hospital and that’s booked up to the never ever.”

woman walking into entry of John Flynn hospital
There will be a transition period before Bupa patients are charged more at John Flynn Private Hospital.(ABC Gold Coast: Steve Keen)

Ms Burrin said she was working out whether or not she could transfer to another health insurance fund.

She said it was an added complication to being part-way through treatment of a major disease.

“I have to go through the process of saying to them ‘I have actually got breast cancer’,” she said.

She was concerned about paying more money and having to go through another waiting period.

“It’s not a good situation to be in,” she said.

Hospital boss says costs rising

John Flynn Private Hospital chief executive Adam Stevenson said there would be a two month transition period before Bupa patients were charged more.

He said Bupa members would begin charged out of pocket at Ramsay hospitals if no agreement was reached before the end of 60 days.”There will be no impact for 60 days on patients, but after that if there is no agreement, after that patients will begin to be charged out of pocket if they are Bupa members and needing care at our hospitals.”

Pindara Private Hospital chief executive Mark Page, whose facility is also owned by Ramsay, said the costs of masks, protective equipment and nurses’ wages were increasing.

“Costs have gone up significantly for hospitals over the last two-and-a-half years and now everyone is feeling and seeing the inflation impacts on all of us,” he said.

signage of hospital outside entry with person walking in background
Mark Page says the cost of providing health care has risen significantly.(ABC Gold Coast: Steve Keen)

Mr Page said Ramsay Health Care had about 130,000 people admitted across its six hospitals from Southport to Ballina in the year to June 30.

He said 40,000 of them went to emergency departments at Pindara and John Flynn hospitals.

He said he hoped to see a resolution with Bupa quickly.

“All this is doing by not being able to reach an agreement … it just creates worry and distress for patients,” he said.

Patients ‘worried about their future’

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