CARE FOR THE VULNERABLE
The long, hard battle for my son's rights
Andrew Johnson (pictured) has severe disabilities and has been in state care since 1999, yet was ordered by Centrelink to prove his eligibility for a disability pension (Saturday Age, 15/10). I can empathise with what his family went through. My son, who has very similar disabilities, is 16. While our paperwork went through and his Centrelink payment was approved, his concession card was cancelled. I was not alerted about this until our chemist said he would have charge full price for my son's many medications. After three phone calls to the Department of Human Services, including waiting 40 to 60minutes and getting a different story from each person I spoke to, the problem was discovered. I even took him to a Centrelink office, where thankfully we were seen straight away. (It is obvious even to the untrained eye that he has a severe disability).
But then I had to go through another process to have his concession card reinstated, despite him being entitled to disability payment. I was asked if he had photo ID (no, special schools do not issue student ID cards), bank account (no) or passport (no). We can barely leave the house, let alone go overseas. I had to complete another "no identification form".
Andrew Johnson has been in state care since 1999 due to his severe mental disabilities. Centrelink are insisting that his parents, David and Deb Johnson get him reassessed for the disability pension. Credit: Penny Stephens
My son was diagnosed, and has been on Centrelink payments, since he was four. Eventually the process was done, but what a dreadful waste of time and resources. And it was not until I became very angry on the phone that we got down to the bottom of it all. Targeting vulnerable people is a disgrace. (I wrote a letter of complaint to the department about three weeks ago and have not received a response.)
Anne Angelo, Preston
Why I fear putting my daughter into care
It was with sadness that I read about the disabled woman with a severe intellectual disability and cerebral palsy who passed away ("Dead at 22: carers said 'she didn't really feel pain"', 14/10). I have a 46-year-old daughter. My greatest worry – and this is true of other families – is that I might have to place my loved one into care. In the case of the young woman, no one did anything despite several alerts about her carers.
The disability industry is a billion-dollar industry, with the National Disability Insurance Scheme being rolled out across Australia. My greatest concern is the quality of carers. Often they are poorly trained and this impacts directly onto the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities. Some carers are good, some are not so good. Unless we weed out the non-caring, and sometimes brutal, carers, this treatment of people with disabilities will continue.
Lynette Zanchetta, Brunswick
The hidden elder abuse: undue influence
I am a retired pharmacist and gerontologist. I have worked for the last 20 years with older people in a community setting, most recently as a case manager, and also been involved in age care facilities for friends and relatives. Letters to TheAge have presented an accurate description of what powerless older people endure. There are systems in place to make complaints but little changes. Abuse occurs on a regular basis.
There is also the issue of undue influence. Older people who do not have a formal diagnosis of dementia or disability are "persuaded" to give up property and money to others, even though they may need these assets later on. Some people with enduring powers of attorney incorrectly believe they can direct assets in any way they see fit, rather than their actions having to be in the best interests of the older person. We need laws that protect older people from undue influence. But even if they were introduced, would they be any more effective than the inadequate protections now in place?
Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn
Putting residents first
Under the Age Care Act, the culture within nursing homes is defined by standards and outcomes. Sadly, the wording of the outcomes is imprecise, with phrases such as "adequate hydration", "management of continence", "sufficient staff" and "optimisation of mobility". Obviously these do not lend themselves to objective interpretation or meaningful measurement and accountability.
In accordance with the 2005 Quality and Equity in Aged Care Inquiry, the standards and outcomes must be carefully re-written so that providers understand what is required of them to ensure that residents' physical and mental wellbeing is taken into consideration. Residential aged care can be dramatically improved but to do so we must have a road map that reflects the best interests of residents rather than those of providers.
Boyd Fraser, Toorak
Far too accessible
In your article on unnecessary medical testing and medications (The Age, 13/10), mention was made of proton pump inhibitors drugs. As a retired GP, it horrifies me that they are available "off the shelf". I have been on dialysis for five years due to chronic kidney disease caused by one of these drugs. When I started dialysis I had extensive correspondence with the pharmaceutical company involved, and was assured that doctors would be made aware of this problem and the symptoms of the disease. The medical literature, and the Therapeutic Drugs Administration, have published numerous papers on this subject. However, on Saturday I was able to buy the drug that caused my illness in a health store. The leaflet mentions liver disease as a serious side effect, but not kidney disease or its symptoms. The government must intervene.
Kim Harrison, Barwon Heads
Matter of human rights
In arguing against legalising same-sex marriage, Albert Riley (Letters, 15/10) lists some countries that have not done so. In most of those, homosexuality is illegal (37per cent of UN states, including Papua New Guinea, Kenya and Malaysia) or attracts the death penalty (6per cent of UN states, including Iran and Saudi Arabia). They are also states where rape in marriage is legal, domestic subjugation and violence against women is endemic, and women have few social and political freedoms. Clearly, they are countries where traditional notions of marriage (and gender) hold sway. It is no accident that countries that recognise the rights of women also advance the rights of LGBTI people. Neither gender nor sexuality should be a reason to deprive people of their human rights.
Philomena Horsley, Northcote
Nobels for everyone...
Bob Dylan is a great choice for the Nobel Prize for Literature (Saturday Age, 16/10). I cannot think of anyone else who fits the bill. This opens up the way on the other Nobel Prizes. Take physics, for instance. My grandson, Samuel, should be amongst the top two or three contenders next time around. On Saturday, his ephemeral work, the castle, juxtaposed several competing laws of physics (including one wherein the castle's sand had insufficient moisture and Newton's first law took effect). He proved that the architectural integrity of his creation is not, nor can it ever be, sufficient to stave off particle/antiparticle-like annihilation as the wave strikes. Yes, Samuel, for you and others the tide will sound.
Michael McNeill, Bendigo
...no, only the elite
I am thrilled Bob Dylan has been recognised with a Nobel Prize. This era has a number of fine songwriters, such as him, who have written works of social and political significance in much the same way as poets of past ages.
Rilke Muir, Kensington
At best, incompetence
Heath Aston's article – "Can anybody smell gas" (Insight, 15/10) – shows an extraordinary state of affairs, where Australian taxpayers are robbed off billions of dollars as well as the finite LNG resources. How can governments be so ineffective in defending national interests? Has the cosy relationship between politicians and corporations eroded the political conduct? And now we expect people to take seriously the "patriotic" politicians who commit to spending billions of our taxes on fighters jets and submarines in order to support the national interest. The same national interest that was catered for so well during the LNG contract deals. The smell of incompetency (to be polite) is as strong as the smell of gas around Barrow Island.
Fethon Naoum, Portland
Oh, our precious bay
The Melbourne Marathon yesterday. A day of strong winds. Thousands of runners slurp water from thousands of white polypropylene cups. The cups are tossed onto the road, where they are picked up by the wind, whipped down access ramps and steps, and blown across the sand. Possibly hundreds of non-biodegradable cups make their way into Port Phillip Bay. Why?
Lesley Truffle, Albert Park
Err, try common sense
Attorney-General George Brandis versus Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson SC. What a fiasco. I would refer them to an episode, "Man Overboard", in the BBC series Yes Prime Minister. The issue over which Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby were arguing was resolved by common sense – but that is too much to expect in our current political climate.
Peter Weatherhead, Wantirna
DIY the only answer
I have the answer as to why asbestos is dumped in national parks (Saturday Age, /10). I own a holiday house that was built, with asbestos, in the 1960s. I want to renovate it but the process of getting rid of the asbestos is fraught with obstacles.
The local council shut down, as if I had mentioned a nuclear catastrophe. Then I checked the EPA website which lists "possible" companies with a licence to remove and dispose of the ghastly product. Some businesses, did not answer or return my calls, while others no longer had a licence to carry out the work. Building contractors are restricted and reluctant to get involved with asbestos removal.
So I, a 63-year-old female, did the demolition, wearing a mask and protective clothing. I wrapped each asbestos sheet in durable black plastic and taped it up. I was tempted to dump these sheets but my conscience would not allow this. I paid a contractor $550 to take them to a designated landfill, 70kilometres away. I am now waiting for possible symptoms of asbestos-related diseases to appear.
Sylvia Hermans, Cheltenham
A no-fault approach
The Duckett report's recommendation (The Age 14/10) that the Victorian government should examine "the option of extending no fault medical insurance for health care injuries", similar to compensation schemes for injuries in workplaces and car accidents, is welcome. We would be copying New Zealand and some European countries and American states, and adopting a recommendation first made to the federal government in 1974. This reform will alleviate the stress and delays for litigants and health professionals under the fault-based system, and divert the cost of legal representation to where the money needs to go. It will also alter the defensive stance that doctors feel obliged to take when things go wrong, and lead to a system where everyone learns from the inevitable mistakes that occur when humans are involved. A backlash from vested interests can be anticipated. It must be rejected.
Dr Kerry Breen, Kew
Credit where it's due
I hear and read a lot of criticism of Australia Post, but times are tough for such a business in an increasingly paperless world. I remain quite a fan, having posted (not express) a card from Melbourne on a Thursday. It arrived in Townsville on my daughter's birthday the following Wednesday – despite Melbourne's Grand Final holiday and Queensland's Queen's Birthday holiday. Now that is good going.
Rosemary McCarthy, Mitcham
Always play it safe
Samsung smartphones are not the only devices to suffer from problems with lithium batteries (The Age, 14/10). I worked with battery technology for about 50years and never experienced serious problems with lead acid, nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride batteries. Lithium batteries need to be investigated to establish their suitability in all applications. I have advised my wife to place her phone on a ceramic plate while it is on charge. Also, I have seen advertisements for lithium-based, jump starter devices for cars and trucks. The ads suggest you can keep these in your glove box. Please do not. Keep them in a metal tool box in your car boot. I would also advise against solar power storage batteries being installed close to your dwelling.
Gerry Reed, Rutherglen
Chardonnay, not sweat
What an uninformed article – "Men talk about this in the locker room ..." (Comment, 14/10) – by Nick Harding. Of course they do not. The stereotypes alluded to are more likely to talk about these things over a chardonnay in a nice cafe.
Tony Nicholl, Mount Eliza
AND ANOTHER THING
Trump
If Trump continues to sweep his past indiscretions under the rug, will his hair keep expanding?
Don Phillips, Fitzroy
The Americans have got it wrong. Michelle should be running for president.
Tony Jackson, Fitzroy
No, she's too smart to run. What a shame.
Kate McCaig, Surrey Hills
It seems likely Clinton will be in the White House and Trump will be defending himself in the courts.
Peter Jacovou, Balwyn North
Politics
The Attorney-General is a law unto himself.
James Newbery, Burwood
Brandis parades around like the grand Pooh-Bah. Gilbert and Sullivan must be smiling, but it's no laughing matter for Australians.
Margaret Ludowyk, Brunswick
John Hewson (14/10), isn't a "conviction politician" an oxymoron?
Elisabeth Schiller, Glen Iris
Shorten, whose political life is about stitching up deals, showed a lack of judgment in backing Kimberley Kitching for the Senate.
Fouli Cheistmann, Northcote
Furthermore
I agree with Norman Mailer who said, "If Bob Dylan's a poet, I'm a basketball player".
George Greenberg, Malvern
Our songwriting genius Paul Kelly, who's contributed so much to our sense of community, doesn't have an Australian honours award.
Gail Greatorex, Ormond
Nick Kyrgios was so bad, even the umpire "sledged" him.
Peter Botha, Altona
Can we please have a plebiscite on the future of Kyrgios?
Michael Higgins, Erica
The public has a right to know which insurance companies reject one in three legitimate claims.
Alan Williams, Port Melbourne