Disabled youth living in aged-care homes
About 520 young West Australians with disabilities - some as young as 18 - are living in aged-care homes because of a shortage of dedicated housing and residential places.
State Government figures suggest 100 disabled people under 50 are in aged-care homes - including 49 the Disability Services Commission has identified as inappropriately placed.
But Gordon Trewern, chief executive of WA disability support organisation Nulsen, yesterday told a Senate inquiry, which is investigating the adequacy of residential care for young people with disabilities, that the true number was probably higher.
"I think the issue of how many people are inappropriately placed in residential aged care is simply unknown," he said. "We would suspect it's more than 50."
Kirstine Bruce told the inquiry about her 18-year-old daughter Ariana Pula, who had a catastrophic brain injury in April 2013 from a rare form of encephalitis.
After 15 months in Royal Perth Hospital, Ms Pula was transferred to a high-care residential facility, which was the only option available and which her mother says is inadequate and inappropriate for her.
"She only gets showered three days a week - Monday, Thursday and Saturday," Ms Bruce said.
"Every other day, they get her up between the hours of 10 and 12, put her in a chair and park her in front of a TV. She may get physio one day a week, she may not.
"It just depends on the needs of other clients."
Ms Bruce said it was crucial for her daughter to have intensive rehabilitation quickly to boost her chances of recovery.
"She's going to have to learn to walk, talk, eat and even sleep, but they treat her like an elderly person," she said.
"My biggest concern is that my daughter . . . has got an illness that can be recovered from if she's given the right course of treatment and rehabilitation.
"There's a big gap between hospitals and residential care."
Ms Bruce, who visits her daughter daily in the home, said Ms Pula was being assessed to go to Fiona Stanley Hospital or Rocky Bay Disability Services, but has been told "it won't be a fast process".
Disability Services Commission director-general Ron Chalmers said the agency's budget had doubled over the past five years, including $9 million towards supporting young people in inappropriate housing.
"We are living in an environment where the demand for services overall significantly exceeds resources," Dr Chalmers said.
