Ms Wright asks Leeder about the coordination of care, touching on Rebecca Kelly's evidence the other day which mentioned the fractured system.
Leeder responds saying that there needs to be an effort from health professionals carers, family as informed participants #DisabilityRC
Leeder speaks about the main challenges in our health care system. He says the biggest challenge lies in Australia having an ageing population, and the way the system manages chronic illness.
He touches on how the system treats mental illness in older persons.
He asks why you wouldn't focus on training the people that are already practicing, noting the time it takes for young graduates to practice in the field.
We need change now, and we can't wait for the next generation of health professionals.
He notes the limited connectivity between health system and disability supports, and notes that people with intellectual disability need support beyond what the systems provide.
Trollor says we have a very limited capacity to understand the health outcomes for people with cognitive disability and autism, largely because of our lack of data and correct reporting.
Trollor talks about identity, and people with intellectual disability and autism who wish to be viewed as valued members of society who make valuable contributions.
Trollor: the health status of people with intellectual disability has been known for years. Mortality statistics have been published by researchers in this area for years.
There's been incremental response but no big-picture approach.
Resuming with Ms Eastman asking @Trollor1 about the importance of identifying and responding to physical and emotional health issues that are more common in people with autism and intellectual disability.
Most of the research in this area has been international. The Autism cooperative research centre ( autismcrc.com.au) is currently sponsoring a few studies in Australia.
Lack of action on this leads to direct harm for people with #disability. People with autism and ID have more than twice as many preventable deaths as other people.
Needs are not well-met. For example, our national suicidal ideation strategy doesn't mention autism at all. Trollor puts this down to lack of awareness of the issue.
Eastman: Is there anything in Australia's education system to support teachers to be aware of these issues if they come up when the child is outside the home?
Trollor: Progressive education departments are very aware of this issue. School counsellors see a high number of children with autism who are experiencing suicidal ideation.
Swallowing problems, respiratory and gastrointestinal issues are common causes of death - if you are not supported to adequately manage your feeding, you're at higher risk.
This is according to a study of disability service users. Eastman asks if there's any research outside that area, Trollor says he's not aware of any except an international study about swallowing issues.
Moving on to mobility impairments, which can impact access to health services. [We would say health services impact people's access to them by not making their physical spaces accessible to ppl with movility impairments!]
People with intellectual disability have a higher risk of Alzheimers. The reasons for the risk are understood for Down Syndrome but not for other kinds of intellectual disability.
Referring to earlier witnesses, confirming the fragmentation of different health services and specialists - Trollor says it gets much worse for adults with disability, and it's a difficult problem to solve.
This is particularly an issue for people who communicate differently. People who communicate by changing their behaviour, for example - a healthcare professional might write their behaviour off as directly caused by their disability.
People with ID are 4 times more likely to be in prison, especially if they are Indigenous. They also return to custody at high rates because they are not adequately supported when they leave.
Trollor: Criminal justice system contact and poverty contribute to complex healthcare needs, and our system is just not equipped to deal with it. We need significant adaptations to our standard practice.
Eastman asks about private health insurance for people with cognitive disability.
@Trollor1: That would be an interesting thing to study, I'm not aware of research on it. We do know people with ID use private hospitals substantially less than you'd expect.
They provided detailed recommendations to the #NDIS Commission, and he wants to highlight some of the challenges for the Commission as it goes forward.
They only cover deaths of people being supported by a registered NDIS provider. So there will be people who don't make it into the reports because they are getting support from a non-registered provider.
Previous systems of reporting were not national, so States and Territories had different levels of data collected. Nothing at all for Tasmania, Western Australia.
Trollor says people with ID share the top ten most common causes of death with the general population. It's the proportion of potentially avoidable deaths that has the big gap.
Trollor: It used to be easier with a provider of last resort to negotiate these arrangements. The transition to the #NDIS has made it difficult but I think that's slowly changing.
This has been suggested years ago at a roundtable. Whose responsibility is it to act, Trollor asks? There's a lot of goodwill but people go away and forget.
@CIDvoice Eastman asks about the national Australian coronial information system. There's no explicit code for disability status in that database, according to Trollor's submission.
@CIDvoice Eastman harks back to yesterday's evidence, the distress caused by identifying someone's disability as a cause of death. How do we identify disability as a status for coronial purposes without ppl's death certificates defining them by their disability?
You discover things that were previously hidden when you re-code causes of death that were listed as someone's disability, so it's important for data as well as avoiding distress. But it's hard to change a system that's been in use for many years.
Trollor: We don't list someone's genotype in their cause of death, even when they died from a highly genetic condition. So why do it for Down Syndrome?
@Trollor1 These recs are meant to build on previous guidance, including a guide to intellectual disability inclusion in mental healthcare, which was created by UNSW with NSW Department of Health funding in 2014.
Eastman challenges the idea that we need to evaluate and test and pilot to know that training will work - she points to previous witness Toni Mitchell who has made positive change just by talking to healthcare staff about her own experiences.
Eastman and Trollor agree that human rights focus and putting people with disability at the centre of the training will be important in changing attitudes.
Commissioner Atkinson reminds everyone that every year we delay, 400 people die needlessly. (That's just people with ID over 20, so more than that actually.)
The Guide mentioned earlier clearly identifies reasonable adjustments for practitioners to make their care inclusive - this needs to be legislated nationally.
Even when people are specifically trained in intellectual disability mental health (15 trainees recently funded) they have trouble finding work within the system! We know people with ID access mental health services a lot but there's no funding to hire specialists.
People with cognitive disability have been left behind in mental e-health initiatives for a long time - although Black Dog is currently working on one.
Small investments in better preventative care could save both government money and people with disability time and trauma when it comes to emergency hospital admissions.
Government needs to take on a leadership role in policy development and implementation, while centring the lived experience of people with disability, says Trollor.
Trollor again emphasises the lived experience of people with ID and their families - he is in a position to hear a lot from them and wants to amplify their voices.
Bennett asks Trollor to confirm that there has been no formal cost-benefit analysis done in Australia on that strategic investment in early intervention for health outcomes of people with disability. Trollor confirms, says there's a little data out of the UK.
Small: The health inequities (for people with intellectual disability) are stark and are persistent, despite having them be demonstrated for a very long time.
Dr Small refers to 'Right to Opportunity' , a report which addresses the national strategy. She reads excerpts which highlight the inaccessiblity of mainstream health services for people with disabiltity.
Wright asks about the training that Dr Smalls had to undergo in her training
for the College of Physicians regarding to treating people with intellectual disability.
Dr Smalls says no, she didn't receive specialised training.
There's no specialsits for intellectual disability, but Small says we might be able to achieve specialists that have knowledge and understanding about intellectual disability and complex needs.
She says there needs to be enhancement in curricula to include this
Small says that reasonable adjustments (such as additional communication aids) are particularly important in environments such as emergency departments.
She says these environments are scary and stressful for anyone, especailly people with intellectual disability
Dr Small talks about the NDIS, acknowledges that the scheme has provided support and opportunity for many, but that for people with complex needs it sometimes creates a break down in their care.
Says there's been a loss in collaboration between services.
There are 5 key areas which Dr Small has highlighted.
She says we must introduce high level accountability, systems that drive collaboration, dedicated funding, and implement systemic strategies and tools.
Getting ready to live tweet the last day of the #DisabilityRC hearing into the use of psychotropic medication and chemical restraints.
It's been a tough week, so if you need to mute this thread of the hashtag, we do understand.
If you feel impacted by anything you read here today, remember you can always call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
You can also call the National Counselling and Referral Service (specifically set up to support people impacted by anything related to the #DisabilityRC) on 1800 421 468.
We have been very disappointed so far with the lack of people with disability giving evidence at this hearing, and we'd like to start this thread today by sharing three blogs written for us by people with lived experience of the mental health system. #DisabilityRC
Getting ready to live tweet the #DisabilityRC again this morning. Thanks to everyone following along this week. Some of the testimony is confronting to hear, and we appreciate everyone engaging with us this week.
As always, if you need support, you can reach Lifeline on 13 11 14.
You can also call the National Counselling and Referral Service, set up to support anyone impacted by anything related to the #DisabilityRC, on 1800 421 468.
@FrancesPWDA is live tweeting this morning's #DisabilityRC sessions. You can follow the thread here:
It's day 2 of the Disability Royal Commission into "the use of psychotropic medication, behaviour support and behaviours of concern". We'll be live tweeting from here again today using the hashtag #DisabilityRC
We heard some harrowing testimony yesterday and we encourage everyone to look after yourselves as we go through this together.
We invite you to follow along on the journey with us, but also remember you can temporarily mute the hashtag or a thread if you need to. #DisabilityRC
@FrancesPWDA will be live tweeting for us from her account this morning. Check out the thread here:
The 6th Disability Royal Commission hearing on "the use of psychotropic medication, behaviour support and behaviours of concern" starts today at 10am, and we will be live tweeting the proceedings from here.
We'll be using the hashtag #DisabilityRC if you'd like to join us.