Disability support workers ‘underequipped and overlooked’ during COVID-19
Researchers at UNSW Sydney spoke to 2,341 disability workers about their experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak, and found that many felt anxious and unsafe while working.
Resources
Disability, health and the coronavirus: Why action is urgently needed
The lack of awareness of our human rights permeates throughout the health sector and recent hearingsby the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability have shed light on the human cost. Health sector responses have been a life-and-death matter for people with disabilities for a very long time. Throw in a global pandemic and reforms to health sector policy and practice have never been more urgent.
Statement of Concern – COVID-19: Human rights, disability and ethical decision-making
This Statement of Concern is made by internationally recognised independent experts in the area of human rights, bioethics and disability who have come together to emphasise key human rights principles and standards that need to underpin ethical decision-making in the context of disability and the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 preparation must include people with disability
“We call on the Federal Government to urgently update the Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 to include the needs of people with disability. In addition, people with disability must have a place at the table when talking about how we respond to this emergency.”
Urgent calls for targeted COVID-19 response for people with disability
Australia needs a targeted response to coronavirus for people with disabilities and the disability service sector, experts warn. Leading health and disability researchers say people with disability are a vulnerable group in the COVID-19 pandemic and that the health and disability sectors were underprepared for the crisis.
List of issues for people with disability – COVID-19
Closing date: December 21, 2020
Call for immediate proactive response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) for Australians with disability. The following is a list of issues that need to be addressed urgently to ensure the wellbeing of people with disability during the current COVID-19 public health emergency. Endorsed
Disability RC reveals important medical history
Over and over the last two weeks, the same words echoed. They didn’t listen to me. They didn’t see me. They didn’t think I was worth helping.
Calls for coordinated approach as NDIS access issues continue
Senators heard at an estimates hearing that the National Disability Insurance Agency is still working through 16,000 unopened email enquiries.
Toowoomba mum tells royal commission she was urged to abort disabled son
Ms Mitchell’s testimony at the third public hearing held in western Sydney this month has been one of many to shine a light on the challenges of getting treatment for complex medical conditions, and navigating Australia’s health system.
Doctors say they cut corners to help ‘forgotten children’ with disabilities access NDIS funding
Frustrated doctors have admitted to cutting corners to ensure children with disabilities can access government funding sooner.
GPs’ role in navigating the NDIS continues to be overlooked
One of the major issues Associate Professor Davis has encountered with the NDIS planning process has been a lack of communication between practitioners and the scheme, which can result in inefficiencies.
Medicos dismissing concerns of intellectually disabled people
Experts are shining new light on the reasons why so many Australians with intellectual disabilities are dying from potentially avoidable deaths at a young age. Those living with an intellectual disability say it’s not uncommon for doctors to dismiss their concerns or even ignore them all together.
People experiencing homelessness struggling to navigate the NDIS
During a session at the Victorian Homelessness Conference, panellists from across the social sector discussed how the NDIS was catering to people with disability who were homeless or at risk.
NDIS struggling to accommodate people with psychosocial disability
People with severe mental health issues are having their National Disability Insurance Scheme funding cut because the system does not account for the episodic nature of psychosocial disability, a new report says.
Young people with disabilities are trapped in nursing homes
It is hard to live your life surrounded by death. That is the confronting challenge facing around 6,000 young people with disabilities who are in Australian nursing homes. One young woman recently told us of the pain of watching 40 people she knew die in her first two years in a home. Another had tears streaming down her face every time a death was announced on the public address system and the favourite song of the deceased was played.