Disabled woman trapped in bed for more than 16 hours due to staffing issues

Wednesday, 12 January 2022

A disabled woman who requires around-the-clock care was trapped in her bed for more than 16 hours after support workers failed to show up.

Masterton resident Beauche McGregor, 27 (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) says her life has been in “total chaos” over the past 18 months due to carers not showing up.

But her support provider, Healthcare New Zealand, claims skills shortages exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of government funding are to blame.

“The longest I've been stuck in bed was until two in the afternoon,” McGregor said.

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“Being left in bed for over 16 hours, that affects my skin, my health, it’s very degrading.”

McGregor has cerebral palsy and requires carers to visit her throughout the day to help her with basic functions.

She said that over the past 18 months, carers have regularly failed to show up.

McGregor said she had contacted Healthcare New Zealand more than a dozen times during this period, but was either left on hold or did not feel listened to.

Although there has been improved stability in McGregor’s carer support since November, she was worried that someone could die unless something drastic was done to improve the system.

“I don't want an apology, I just want them to do their jobs. I’m just one person, other people could be impacted by this and just not be speaking up,” she said.

McGregor is studying a Bachelor of Social Work at Open Polytechnic, and her carer issues have caused her to miss class.

University of Otago senior research fellow Bernadette Jones (Ngati Apa, Ngā Wairiki) is an expert on Māori health with a special interest in disability issues.

She believes McGregor’s situation isn't unique.

“People are tearing their hair out fighting a system that’s not set up properly, and nobody is listening. It affects their lives, they can’t even get out of bed,” Jones said.

“It’s obviously something that’s broken in the system and needs to be addressed.”

Healthcare New Zealand group chief executive Josephine Gagan said McGregor has complex care requirements involving six care workers across three daily visits.

“Replacing any of them at short notice isn’t easy as the caregiver’s skills and expertise need to be matched appropriately to the client’s needs and timings that suit them,” she said.

“Staffing is a constant challenge that not only our company is facing but for those others in the healthcare industry.”

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Gagan said the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated an ongoing shortage of appropriately trained support workers, and that more government funding could help address the issue.

“There is no funding provided to have trained people on call to enable us to always be able to replace the appropriately trained staff at short notice,” she said.

“It’s a challenging environment to provide these services within tight budgets reliant on funding from local district health boards.”

Jones, who also has a mobility disability, said she hoped the newly established Ministry of Disabled People would address these problems.

“Beauche is a young, Māori woman, beginning her career, and she has an opportunity to get a job, which is not easy for disabled people,” she said.

“How is she going to keep her job if she can’t even get carers to come in and get her out of bed?”