Latest news with #intellectualdisability
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Woman lay dead more than two days in supported accommodation
Photo: 123RF A woman with an intellectual disability living in supported accommodation lay dead for more than two days before staff found her, an investigation by the Health and Disability Commission (HDC) has found. In a just-released decision, Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rose Wall said Spectrum Care Limited breached the woman's rights by failing to ensure she was taking her anti-epilepsy medication or carry out adequate checks on her well-being. A post-mortem examination found the woman in her 30s, who died in early 2021, had not been taking her medication as prescribed. The report noted the woman (Ms A), who had suffered a traumatic brain injury as a toddler, was "determined to live independently" and often refused help. "Ms A shared Spectrum support workers with the person living in the flat next to hers, and she was able to be supported 24/7. However, mostly the support she received was at her own request." Unless she asked for help, she was usually checked once a day - "or not at all if staff did not want to anger/wake her". She had a long history of threatening and physically aggressive behaviour towards staff and police, but over the years, Spectrum had given her support with "anger management" and trained caregivers in behaviour support strategies. Wall said Spectrum "should be commended" for supporting Ms A to live independently, but it failed to adequately mitigate the risks. She had her medication for epilepsy and diabetes in blister packs, at her request. "Staff were supposed to remind her daily to take her medication, and if she was in a 'good mood' she would take them. "In 2021 there are three recorded instances when A refused to take her medications. Spectrum noted that if A was angry, she would refuse and sometimes throw the medications over the fence or onto the roof, and sometimes she would hide the blister pack so that staff could not check it." The caregiver who delivered her evening meal said she could still hear music playing from Ms A's apartment the next morning, "which made her think that A must be in a good mood, although she did not see A all day". A second caregiver, who came on duty at 3pm, went to ask Ms A what she would like for dinner, but saw she was in bed with music playing. He assumed that was sleeping "and did not want to wake her as this could trigger aggressive behaviour". He went to her flat again the next day at 11am and saw she was still lying in the same position. He entered the flat, called her name, and shook her body but she could not be roused. An independent investigation commissioned by Spectrum after her death found Ms A had been assessed as needing 24/7 support with day-to-day needs. In practice, this occurred on a once-a-day basis only, unless Ms A requested additional support or not at all if staff did not want to wake/anger her. Sean Stowers, Spectrum Care chief executive officer. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly "It was established that A had not been seen face-to-face by staff for more than one day." Ms A operated "in a high-trust system and he was known to occasionally break that trust". "This inevitably put her at risk, and there were insufficient checks and balances in the system to mitigate those risks. [Ms A's] policy of only allowing staff into her space when it suited her was also a risk. While it honoured her independence, it also prevented staff from monitoring her welfare and compromised their duty of care. "Staff trusted her to take her medicine, but there was no way to check that she had taken it at the right time. When she died, which was probably on the night of [Day1] or in the early morning of [Day 2], it became clear that she had not taken any of her prescribed medication [for the last few days]. This put her at risk and staff had no way of knowing she was at risk." Spectrum has since introduced a 'Self-Administration of Medicine Agreement' outlining the conditions for clients who control their own medication. Rose Wall. Photo: Supplied / HDC An expert adviser to the HDC, John Taylor, said a once-a-day check-in for someone with "very high support" needs was a severe departure from both the expected standard of care and the contract. "It is concerning that it took such a tragic event for Spectrum to develop and implement a new SOP [standard operating procedure] outlining that wellbeing checks of residential consumers should occur at least thrice daily." Regarding the lax oversight of Ms A's medication, Taylor said this was "a severe departure from the expected standard of care". Allowing people the "dignity of risk" meant respecting a person's autonomy and self-determination to make his or her own choices, but also providing appropriate safeguards, information and strategies to "minimise the risk of harm", he said. "To be clear, there is no 'dignity' for a person if they are left to face the consequences of risks they could not foresee, manage or understand." Wall said Spectrum had accepted the finding of "an organisational breach", and had itself identified "service-level failings". She directed the provider to apologise to Ms A's mother and family for the issues identified in the report, and revise its operating procedures to include alternative ways of doing wellbeing checks and medication reminders. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
ABC News
17-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Mother calls for change after daughter with intellectual disability told to wait five months for CT scan
One of Imogen's favourite games is to play doctor with her teddy. As she pretends to take a blood sample, it is clear how familiar she is with being reassured during medical procedures. "It's OK Teddy, it doesn't hurt," she tells a knitted bear fitted with a cannula. The five-year-old knows what it is like being scared of needles, hospitals and health workers. Imogen lives with a rare condition, which involves intellectual disability and profound hearing loss. To prepare for medical procedures, her parents use games, toys and stories. But nothing they have tried works when it comes to CT scans. Her mum Ineke once managed to get her into the room at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney, where the scanner was decorated with colourful fish to reassure young people. "It was just too overwhelming. Even though she desperately wanted to try, she was not able to," Ineke said. So when their ear nose and throat specialist had concerns a mass may be growing in her middle ear, a scan under anaesthetic was ordered. Ineke was shocked when she was told her daughter would have to wait five months for the procedure. Do you have a story to share? Email More than 450,000 Australians live with intellectual disability, according to government data. People with intellectual disability die on average 27 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population and have double the preventable death rate, according to research from UNSW's National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health. A review into deaths of people with disability in care in Queensland also found "many people [were] not diagnosed with the condition that led to their death until either just before their death or at autopsy." Cathy Franklin, a researcher with the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Autism Health, said there was not enough support for people with intellectual disability in the medical system. She said even having a simple procedure like a blood test could be challenging for this community and the people who cared for them. Accommodations that can help make it possible for a person with intellectual disability to undergo a medical procedure include role play or visual stories that explain the smells, sensations, sounds and movements to expect. Dr Franklin said only a few medical centres across Australia do this and are generally set up to accommodate children. "In most parts of Australia, there's simply nowhere to refer if someone with intellectual or developmental disability needs a blood test under sedation or even just with additional psychological support," she said. It took several weeks and many phone calls before Imogen's mum was able to secure an appointment for her CT scan under a general anaesthetic. When her GP saw the results, the family was told to take her straight to hospital. The radiologist's report noted the bones in her middle ear were "almost completely eroded" and other parts were facing "near complete obliteration". Within 48 hours, Imogen underwent urgent surgery to remove the rapidly advancing growth. "That there could have been even more serious consequences is really scary." Ineke said the family was grateful for the care Imogen received over the years across multiple hospitals, but lamented it often fell on individual healthcare workers to ensure her daughter received the care she needed. She has written to NSW Health asking for an increase to the number of days allocated to medical imaging under anaesthetic, worried that others were missing out on the kind of care Imogen received. "It was a near miss," Ineke said. "Many families, especially families who have kids with disabilities, don't have the time, energy or resources to be able to advocate in the way that I was able to." In a statement, NSW Health said it was "committed to providing safe, inclusive, person-centred care to people with disability". It said the decision to conduct imaging under sedation or general anaesthetic was based on the needs of the patient and in conversation with the treating practitioner, the patient, their families and in line with relevant policies. A statement from the Sydney Children's Hospital Network focused only on MRI scans. "All children and young people requiring an MRI scan, with or without general anaesthetic, are triaged and prioritised based on clinical need, with the most urgent cases always seen first," a spokesperson said. "Parents are given an estimated timeframe for an MRI scan, however, this timeframe may change based on a child's clinical assessment," they said. "For children who do require general anaesthetic, MRI sessions are held five times a week, with emergency sessions run on weekends, as required. There is no anticipated change to the service." If a parent feels their child's condition has worsened, they can contact their child's treating team so a clinical review can take place, the spokesperson added.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man formerly on death row can't serve 2 life terms at the same time, Tennessee Supreme Court rules
MEMPHIS, Tenn., (AP) — A Tennessee judge did not have the authority to give Pervis Payne, who was formerly on death row, concurrent sentences of life in prison after ruling that he was intellectually disabled and could not be executed for two 1987 killings, the state Supreme Court said Monday. The court's ruling said a Memphis judge lacked the jurisdiction to give Payne two life sentences to run at the same time rather than one after the other. The concurrent sentences allowed Payne to be eligible for parole in 2026 — 30 years earlier than if the sentences were consecutive. The Supreme Court did not issue the consecutive life sentences for Payne in its ruling. Instead, it returned the matter to the trial court in Memphis for further proceedings. Payne had been on death row for the killings of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter. In January 2022, Judge Paula Skahan sentenced Payne to concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole after ruling in November 2021 that his death sentences must be vacated because he was intellectually disabled. The case has drawn national attention from anti-death-penalty activists and included the involvement of the Innocence Project, which argues for the use of DNA testing in cases claiming wrongful conviction. DNA tests failed to exonerate Payne. Skahan's ruling that Payne should be removed from death row was based on a Tennessee law passed earlier in 2021 that made prohibiting the execution of intellectually disabled people retroactive to past cases. Before the 2021 law, Tennessee had no mechanism for people to reopen a case to press an intellectual disability claim. Executions of intellectually disabled people were ruled unconstitutional in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court found they violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Payne, 58, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killings of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo, who were repeatedly stabbed in their Millington apartment and left in a pool of blood. Christopher's son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived. Payne, who is Black, has always maintained his innocence. He told police he was at Christopher's apartment building to meet his girlfriend when he heard the mother, who was white, screaming and tried to help. He said he panicked when he saw a white police officer and ran away. During his murder trial, prosecutors said Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a 'drug-induced frenzy.' Prosecutors said the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to Payne as the killer. However, evidence presented by two experts showed Payne was intellectually disabled, while Payne's supporters said he had taken significant steps in his rehabilitation while serving three decades in prison. It was not immediately clear Monday when Payne would be eligible for parole under the Supreme Court's decision. A hearing must be set to address the new ruling. Payne's lawyer, Kelley Henry, has pushed for Payne's full exoneration. 'Pervis Payne remains incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,' she said in an email Monday. 'We will continue to fight for his freedom and to bring him home to his family.'
Al Arabiya
16-06-2025
- Al Arabiya
Man Formerly on Death Row Can't Serve 2 Life Terms at the Same Time, Tennessee Supreme Court Rules
A Tennessee judge did not have the authority to give Pervis Payne, who was formerly on death row, concurrent sentences of life in prison after ruling that he was intellectually disabled and could not be executed for two 1987 killings, the state Supreme Court said Monday. The court's ruling said a Memphis judge lacked the jurisdiction to give Payne two life sentences to run at the same time rather than one after the other. The concurrent sentences allowed Payne to be eligible for parole in 2026 – 30 years earlier than if the sentences were consecutive. The Supreme Court did not issue the consecutive life sentences for Payne in its ruling. Instead, it returned the matter to the trial court in Memphis for further proceedings. Payne had been on death row for the killings of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter. In January 2022, Judge Paula Skahan sentenced Payne to concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole after ruling in November 2021 that his death sentences must be vacated because he was intellectually disabled. The case has drawn national attention from anti-death-penalty activists and included the involvement of the Innocence Project, which argues for the use of DNA testing in cases claiming wrongful conviction. DNA tests failed to exonerate Payne. Skahan's ruling that Payne should be removed from death row was based on a Tennessee law passed earlier in 2021 that made prohibiting the execution of intellectually disabled people retroactive to past cases. Before the 2021 law, Tennessee had no mechanism for people to reopen a case to press an intellectual disability claim. Executions of intellectually disabled people were ruled unconstitutional in 2002 when the US Supreme Court found they violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Payne, 58, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killings of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo, who were repeatedly stabbed in their Millington apartment and left in a pool of blood. Christopher's son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived. Payne, who is Black, has always maintained his innocence. He told police he was at Christopher's apartment building to meet his girlfriend when he heard the mother, who was white, screaming and tried to help. He said he panicked when he saw a white police officer and ran away. During his murder trial, prosecutors said Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a drug-induced frenzy. Prosecutors said the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to Payne as the killer. However, evidence presented by two experts showed Payne was intellectually disabled, while Payne's supporters said he had taken significant steps in his rehabilitation while serving three decades in prison. It was not immediately clear Monday when Payne would be eligible for parole under the Supreme Court's decision. A hearing must be set to address the new ruling. Payne's lawyer, Kelley Henry, has pushed for Payne's full exoneration. 'Pervis Payne remains incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,' she said in an email Monday. 'We will continue to fight for his freedom and to bring him home to his family.'
Associated Press
16-06-2025
- Associated Press
Man formerly on death row can't serve 2 life terms at the same time, Tennessee Supreme Court rules
MEMPHIS, Tenn., (AP) — A Tennessee judge did not have the authority to give Pervis Payne, who was formerly on death row, concurrent sentences of life in prison after ruling that he was intellectually disabled and could not be executed for two 1987 killings, the state Supreme Court said Monday. The court's ruling said a Memphis judge lacked the jurisdiction to give Payne two life sentences to run at the same time rather than one after the other. The concurrent sentences allowed Payne to be eligible for parole in 2026 — 30 years earlier than if the sentences were consecutive. The Supreme Court did not issue the consecutive life sentences for Payne in its ruling. Instead, it returned the matter to the trial court in Memphis for further proceedings. Payne had been on death row for the killings of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter. In January 2022, Judge Paula Skahan sentenced Payne to concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole after ruling in November 2021 that his death sentences must be vacated because he was intellectually disabled. The case has drawn national attention from anti-death-penalty activists and included the involvement of the Innocence Project, which argues for the use of DNA testing in cases claiming wrongful conviction. DNA tests failed to exonerate Payne. Skahan's ruling that Payne should be removed from death row was based on a Tennessee law passed earlier in 2021 that made prohibiting the execution of intellectually disabled people retroactive to past cases. Before the 2021 law, Tennessee had no mechanism for people to reopen a case to press an intellectual disability claim. Executions of intellectually disabled people were ruled unconstitutional in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court found they violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Payne, 58, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killings of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo, who were repeatedly stabbed in their Millington apartment and left in a pool of blood. Christopher's son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived. Payne, who is Black, has always maintained his innocence. He told police he was at Christopher's apartment building to meet his girlfriend when he heard the mother, who was white, screaming and tried to help. He said he panicked when he saw a white police officer and ran away. During his murder trial, prosecutors said Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a 'drug-induced frenzy.' Prosecutors said the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to Payne as the killer. However, evidence presented by two experts showed Payne was intellectually disabled, while Payne's supporters said he had taken significant steps in his rehabilitation while serving three decades in prison. It was not immediately clear Monday when Payne would be eligible for parole under the Supreme Court's decision. A hearing must be set to address the new ruling. Payne's lawyer, Kelley Henry, has pushed for Payne's full exoneration. 'Pervis Payne remains incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,' she said in an email Monday. 'We will continue to fight for his freedom and to bring him home to his family.'
