People with disability and the COVID-19 response
Leading health and disability researchers in Australia are calling for urgent action from State and Federal governments to develop a targeted response to COVID-19 for people with disability, their families and the disability service sector. In this post originally published by Croakey (lightly edited), Professor Anne Kavanagh from the University of Melbourne and Associate Professor Gemma Carey from UNSW flag risks facing people with disability in this rapidly shifting environment and set out recommendations for government to address those risks.
NDIS and COVID-19 on a collision course
During the COVID-19 epidemic in China, a 16 year old boy starved to death when his father and brother were placed in quarantine after contracting COVID-19. Chinese officials failed to provide adequate care in their place.
In Australia this is a reality we too could face, but it is not the only risk facing Australians with disability in this pandemic. The structure of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – a ‘gig economy’ model which can see numerous workers moving through multiple participants’ homes performing intimate tasks – exposes both participants and workers to risk of infection. Right now, we need clear and consistent messaging about hygiene and best-practice delivered across the disability workforce.
Australians with disability are at elevated risk of morbidity and death from COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions. Even at the best of times, the health system is often inaccessible and does not meet the needs of many people with disability.
Furthermore, the pandemic will place great stress on an already pressured disability workforce. Workers will inevitably get sick and need to self-isolate. We may see people with disability unable to access personal care services that they need to survive.
We need a supplementary workforce to step up under these conditions. The health sector has taken proactive steps to increase its workforce, calling on senior medical and nursing students, retired doctors and public health physicians. A similar response is needed for the disability sector.
We also know that when the disability sector has not been able to support people with disability, the last resort has been hospital. With hospitals stretched to their limits they will no longer be able to be the
provider of last resort.
The Government has had a targeted response for the aged care sector but we have not seen the same for the disability sector, despite the fact that they have many similarities: congregated settings, a precariously employed and inadequately trained care workforce, and families and carers who may face significant challenges meeting the needs of those in need of care.
We have a series of recommendations for government to consider in developing a targeted approach for people with disabilities. Our recommendations include:
a focus on improving the health sector’s capacity to respond by resourcing current medical services that are specialised in disability to upscale their operations
creating a dedicated hotline for people with disability, their families and disability services
ensuring all health care facilities including testing sites are accessible to people with disabilities
ensuring all information and content is accessible and updated frequently.
We have also developed specific recommendations for the disability service sector. These include rapid upskilling in infection control; and that personal protective equipment be made available free as it is in the
health and aged care sectors.
We need the NDIA to financially guarantee services if they need to increase supports to participants who do not have adequate funds in their plans; to financially compensate workers who are unable to go to work
because they need to self-isolate; and to provide families with additional supports if they need to care for someone with a disability without usual supports.
We also propose the government consider calling on allied health students such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy who are often well trained in occupational health and safety measures and infection control.
Beyond the risk of infection, with social distancing people with disabilities will experience significant disruption of their daily routines. Some people with disability may find these changes difficult to comprehend. Those in congregate settings such as group homes may be at higher risk of violence, abuse and neglect because they may be confined for periods of time. We must ensure that does not happen and we call on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to develop strategies to prevent this happening.
Our recommendations are targeted at ensuring that people with disabilities and their families are safe and survive this pandemic. There is a very real risk that they will not be able to access the health care they
need and that disability services will be unable to meet their basic needs.
There is a need for action at the highest levels of government, across the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission to prevent the deaths of people with a disability in the coming weeks and months.
Content moderator: Sue Olney