KEY POINTS:
A bed-ridden disabled woman was left for five days without a carer while another couple was left for four days without food, it was revealed today.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society told a committee of MPs a single parent had been left for five days without a carer.
She had required a hoist to get out of bed and needed someone to help with personal care which had been left to a 14-year-old daughter.
In another case a couple which needed help getting three meals a day had been left for four days without food.
In yet another case, a man had been referred to a community dietician because his male carer had little idea how to help prepare food.
The society said there was little training being given to home care workers even in such basics as using a microwave or a vacuum cleaner.
Parliament's social services select committee is carrying out an inquiry into abuse and neglect of people in the disability sector following allegations of unsafe conditions and medical mistreatment in some residential homes.
There were revelations last year that disabled care providers, such as Focus 2000 -- the business arm of the Cerebral Palsy Society -- had overclaimed for services the Ministry of Health has said it did not deliver.
Representatives from the Multiple Sclerosis Society today told the committee that clients had complained they were not getting all the care hours they were entitled to.
For instance, one client was entitled to 20 hours but only saw a care worker for 15 hours which had left the person wondering what happened to the funding for the other five hours.
The society also revealed agencies are complaining they cannot find enough staff, and have reported difficulty finding workers who can work late afternoons, evenings and weekends to provide meals.
National MP Paul Hutchison questioned who was being held accountable for a situation that saw someone starving due to a lack of carer.
"It seems shocking," he said. "That's the sort of thing that's Third World. It shouldn't be occurring in New Zealand."
He was told a formal complaint had been made in that case. Complaints had been made to the agency that was supposed to provide the home care worker, as well as the office of the Health and Disability Commissioner.
While they were experiencing worker shortages, there was also a lack of accountability on the agencies to make sure workers were working, the committee was told.
There was also a lack of monitoring by the Needs Assessment Service Coordination (NASC) service of which there was one for the whole of Auckland for people aged under 65 years.
The committee also heard today from Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Tania Thomas who admitted there was some justification for criticism from the disability sector that the office was more focused on health.
But she said Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson had directed her to deal with disability issues to ensure such issues were dealt with.
Since January 2000, the office had received 192 complaints about disability services, she said.
- NZPA
