there's our catastrophe

A STATE government program that paid health expenses for former state wards has been axed because demand was much greater than anyone expected.

Last Monday, Open Place, the Victorian support service for ”the forgotten Australians”, froze all individual grants after demand for health funds increased sixfold in 18 months.

In January 2010, two months after Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to former state wards and child migrants for the abuse they suffered in Australia’s children’s homes until the 1970s, the Brumby government gave Open Place $900,000 extra a year to pay for medical and life skills services. Forgotten Australians such as disability pensioner Gabrielle Short could apply for up to $2000 a year for education courses or, more often, health services such as dental work.

But in January last year Open Place had only 250 clients, says the service’s general manager Joanna Bock, most of whom used counselling and group therapy services. Now the service has 1500 former Victorian state wards on its database and receives at least two applications a week for health expenses.

But the state government has refused to bail out the health grants program.

faaaaaaaark

leonineantiheroine:

“CHARANDEV SINGH: It’s nightmarish to be frank. It’s nightmarish.
It’s a place full of fear, it’s a place full of distress, you know. Self-harm issues and suicide issues are extraordinary.
The concentration of people with severe mental illness in high security units and supermaxes and management cells is a stain on this country.

SIMON LAUDER: […] And the treatment on offer is grossly inadequate.
The ombudsman found prisoners suffer significantly higher than average levels of hepatitis, depression, sexually transmitted diseases, self-harm and injury, suicide attempts and hospitalisation.
CHARANDEV SINGH: It’s a critical and long-awaited report. It finally shines a light on what imprisoned people and their families and their advocates have been saying for decades now.

…

BRETT COLLINS: Well look, the hep C issue is just amazing. The hep C issue is actually one where we - 60 per cent - 60 per cent of women in fact are infected with hepatitis C.
I’m afraid prisoners’ health has been very much neglected. There’s a sense almost of, you know, sit in there, just accept what happens to you and to be lucky if you get out.

…

CHARANDEV SINGH: I think because they lose their position in their - in the prison they’re in, in terms of employment, in terms of cells, in terms of visits.
It’s a very austere and hectic and maximum security prison setting and to make access to basic healthcare, you know, subject to those kind of conditions and those kinds of regimes is totally unacceptable.
It’d be unacceptable in the community to - to be subject to those kinds of barriers and it’s unacceptable in prison.

…

CHARANDEV SINGH: Prisoners are proscribed from receiving Medicare services, so all the services are paid for and provided by the state.
Questions of cost and profit, you know, attached to every single treatment decision.
SIMON LAUDER: Brett Collins from Justice Action says cultural change is needed.
Prisons need to be more accountable to the community.”

reblogging to read in full later

charandev singh is really great incidentally

(via leonineantiheroine-deactivated2)

This kind of attitude is why so many people fucking hate going to the doctor.  It leads to bad health outcomes; it’s bad medicine.  It’s also assault.   Even medical ethics recognises this.