{"id":3215,"date":"2025-03-03T10:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T23:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.melbasupport.com.au\/?p=3215"},"modified":"2025-03-21T11:42:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T00:42:27","slug":"australias-healthcare-system-failing-people-with-intellectual-disability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.melbasupport.com.au\/australias-healthcare-system-failing-people-with-intellectual-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia&#8217;s healthcare system failing people with intellectual disability\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"    <div class=\"block--custom-layout block_53e35ed8defeb081b8a172a97a01a28a custom-wysiwyg blog-wysiwyg\" >\r\n        \r\n        <p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Australia&#8217;s healthcare system is failing people with intellectual disability, with advocates calling for urgent reforms to address systemic neglect, discrimination and inadequate medical care.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Parents and advocacy groups say people with intellectual disability routinely face dismissive and discriminatory treatment from healthcare professionals.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rebecca Kelly&#8217;s son Ryan was born with Down syndrome as well as hearing and vision loss, says she has struggled for years to secure proper medical care for him.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When she first inquired about a cochlear implant for Ryan, a doctor questioned whether it was necessary. &#8220;He said, &#8216;What does it matter \u2013 can he even talk?&#8217;&#8221; Kelly told the ABC. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;It made me feel like he was seen as less than human. To hear it from someone who should know better \u2026 it was shocking.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kelly said medical staff had repeatedly dismissed and devalued Ryan, who mostly communicates through body language.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">She said one paediatrician was surprised she didn&#8217;t terminate her pregnancy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;She looked at him, and she looked at me, and she said, &#8216;Oh, didn&#8217;t you have the [Down syndrome] test?&#8217;,&#8221; Kelly said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;It felt like a real kick in the face \u2026 the presumption was that I&#8217;d made a mistake and that if I&#8217;d known he wouldn&#8217;t be there.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;He wasn&#8217;t a mistake. He&#8217;s a delightful child whose life has value.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kelly is not alone in her experiences, other families have shared similar experiences.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;This year, one parent told me that their child stopped walking, and they took them to the doctor thinking they&#8217;ve injured their legs \u2026 and the doctor said, &#8216;Oh, it&#8217;s normal for Down syndrome \u2013 they&#8217;re a bit lazy&#8217;.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;Some medical professionals see the lives of people with intellectual disability as less-than. When you don&#8217;t think someone has value \u2026 then you don&#8217;t treat them the same way as you do your other patients.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kelly\u2019s experiences are part of a broader pattern of &#8220;diagnostic overshadowing,&#8221; where medical professionals assume a person\u2019s symptoms are due to their disability rather than properly assessing their condition. The disability royal commission has heard extensive testimony about systemic neglect, including reports of people with intellectual disabilities being forcibly restrained during procedures and receiving substandard care.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">According to the Council for Intellectual Disability (CID), Australia has nearly 500,000 people with intellectual disability, many of whom struggle to access appropriate healthcare.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Senior CID advocate Jim Simpson said the healthcare challenges faced by this group were &#8220;comparable to third-world countries&#8221;.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In response, CID has launched a campaign urging the next federal government to mandate intellectual disability training in medical degrees and introduce financial incentives for longer consultations.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;That 10-minute consultation that GPs generally have with patients does not work for people with intellectual disabilities, who need more time for communication,&#8221; Simpson told the ABC.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In 2021, the former Coalition government released a 10-year\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.gov.au\/our-work\/national-roadmap-for-improving-the-health-of-people-with-intellectual-disability\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, which provided a blueprint for change.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Melba Outcomes Specialist Janet McLeod said while the current government had implemented some of its recommendations more could be done.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The roadmap identified 72 short-term \u2018actions\u2019 to complete within three years. But so far, only nine of them have been completed<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u201d she said. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In addition to the impact on the person, this inadequate healthcare also results in significant ongoing costs \u2013 financial, social, psychological, and physical \u2013 to their network of support. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Health Minister Mark Butler acknowledged the &#8220;serious&#8221; health inequities faced by people with intellectual disability and said the government &#8220;continues to support the implementation&#8221; of the roadmap. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, Kelly remains unconvinced. &#8220;Getting good care for Ryan is very time-consuming, stressful, and takes a lot of skill,&#8221; she said. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;When I&#8217;m not here, who&#8217;s going to do that?&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want to learn more and help? Here are two things to consider:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong>The Council for Intellectual Disability is running a <a href=\"https:\/\/cid.org.au\/our-campaigns\/our-health-still-counts\/\">campaign<\/a> calling on the Australian Government to take &#8220;real action\u201d for intellectual disability health. <a href=\"https:\/\/cid.org.au\/our-campaigns\/our-health-still-counts\/#addyourvoice\">You can add your voice here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/nceidh.org.au\/\">National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health<\/a> is holding a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com.au\/e\/national-centre-of-excellence-in-intellectual-disability-health-conference-tickets-1138470358489?aff=oddtdtcreator\">two-day conference<\/a> in Sydney (in person) and online from 3 July to discuss the work being undertaken in this space and help improve the future of health care for people with intellectual disability.\u202f\u202f<a href=\"mailto:https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com.au\/e\/national-centre-of-excellence-in-intellectual-disability-health-conference-tickets-1138470358489?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Register<\/a> before 28 March for a discount.\u202f\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/nceidh.org.au\/conference-scholarships\">Scholarships<\/a> are also available for people with intellectual disability, or a family member or supporter of a person with intellectual disability.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia&#8217;s healthcare system is failing people with intellectual disability, with advocates calling for urgent reforms to address systemic neglect, discrimination and inadequate medical care.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Australia&#039;s healthcare system failing people with intellectual disability\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 | Melba Support Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Australia&#039;s healthcare system is failing people with intellectual disability, with advocates calling for urgent reforms to address systemic neglect, discrimination and inadequate medical care.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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