NDIS clients being left at hospitals shows how scheme is still broken

Ken Hird’s battle to keep his son in a care home shows how the NDIS scheme is still failing our most vulnerable, argues Julie Cross.

My heart broke for Ken Hird when I spoke to him this week. He’s experienced more tragedy in life than most.

He lost his wife 25 years ago to Huntington’s disease, a very cruel disorder, which attacks the brain causing nerve cells to die, eventually leaving the person unable to walk, talk and eat.

Unfortunately, for Ken, who is 75, his two children, a son and daughter in their 40s, also inherited the disease and are in the latter stages.

So, it’s disgusting that in between meeting with palliative care specialists to discuss their end of life plans, Ken has also been battling with NDIS bureaucrats over his son’s funding.

Due to his condition deteriorating he has needed one-on-one care, which costs more, resulting in his funds running out in October.

Ken Hird's son being taken away by ambulance to be cared for in hospital after he ran out of NDIS funds. Picture: Supplied

Until this week, his son’s provider, Dr Rodney Jilek, had been paying for his care out of his own pocket, while trying to convince the agency to review and upgrade his plan.

Two weeks ago Ken went into the NDIA office with his son’s support co-ordinator, to plead his case, with no success.

This week, with one of Ken’s son’s carers crying on the doorstep, they relinquished him to the local hospital.

A day later the NDIA miraculously agreed to upgrade his plan, and Ken’s son has now been returned to his home, although Dr Jilek’s next battle is to get the thousands of dollars of care he’s already paid out, back. It’s not guaranteed.

Ken Hird's son being taken away by ambulance to be cared for in hospital after he ran out of NDIS funds. Picture: Supplied

This week I was contacted by another provider, Rhys Gorman, who is facing the prospect of dropping his client at the nearest hospital when his plan runs out a few days before Christmas.

Mr Gorman says the NDIA agrees the NDIS participant, who has a brain injury, is “high risk” and supports in place should not be stopped.

Having previously been through this before, and privately funded this client, he can’t afford to do it again, as his margins are extremely thin.

He says he has to protect the viability of his business which has 200 clients and 200 employees who all rely on him.

While NDIS providers have been demonised as greedy spivs and shonks during Bill Shorten’s tenure, it’s clear there are some good ones with very big hearts, but not never-ending pockets.

The reforms were meant to cut waste, tackle fraud and weed out the bad-‘uns, not leave good providers out of pocket and more importantly, our most vulnerable being forced from their homes and into hospitals.

For god’s sake, can somebody in government get under the bonnet of the NDIS and actually sort it out? We owe it to the Kens of this world.