THE Department of Human Services has been slammed in an Ombudsman’s report over the care of a disabled man in Clayton.
The report, tabled in State Parliament on Thursday, accused DHS of trying to cover up a March 2008 incident in which an intellectually disabled man, who is also mute, received second-degree carpet burns to his back.
Ombudsman George Brouwer’s report states that two carers dragged the man along the carpet to get him out of the unit and on to a bus.
The report stated that the carers then attempted to cover up the incident. “An incident report completed … in relation to the resident’s injury did not disclose that [they] dragged him along the carpet. Instead, the report refers to him ‘crawling from upper back to wards [sic] kitchen’ to imply that his injury was self-inflicted.”
The Ombudsman’s report stated that the man did not receive treatment for his injuries for more than 24 hours and now had a scar. It also found that a preliminary assessment report on the incident had been fabricated.
The two carers have been stood down as a result of the report. Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge said last week she accepted every one of the Ombudsman’s recommendations.
