"I am appalled by the incident described in the Ombudsman's report of an assault of a disabled man in March 2008 by Department of Human Services staff,'' Ms Wooldridge said in response.



"This incident should never have taken place and should not have been responded to in the manner outlined.



"I have sought assurances from the Secretary of DHS that the man at the centre of this incident is safe and not at risk of further harm." She said three staff had been stood down by the department pending an investigation, while a fourth had been moved to duties not involving disability care. Victoria's Public Advocate Colleen Pearce condemned the DHS for its ‘‘shocking and shameful’’ response to the incident. ‘‘I have never come across a case before where there has been this level of cover-up and the fabrication of documentation around this matter,’’ Ms Pearce said. ‘‘In my working experience, I have never come across this before. It is shocking and shameful that it took two years for the department to respond to the continued requests from community visitors to provide accurate and timely information about this matter.’’

In the report tabled in parliament, the Ombudsman found that acting manager of disability accommodation services Monica White ‘‘fabricated the preliminary assessment report,’’ which recommended no further action be taken, and also the record of a phone call. The report also concluded that department of Human Services staff failed to provide community visitors - volunteer inspectors working with the Public Advocate - with ‘‘truthful answers’’ or ‘‘timely and accurate responses’’. Ms Pearce said the Public Advocate had referred two other cases of violence against disabled or vulnerable people by Department of Human Services employees to the Ombudsman, and had recorded 30 such instances in a report released at the end of January. Mr Brouwer said the department’s response to the assault was inadequate and showed ‘‘a disregard for the resident’s human rights and the duty of care that the department has a responsibility to exercise’’. ‘‘This is particularly concerning as the resident cannot speak for himself,’’ Mr Brouwer said. The 39-year-old man, who suffers from an intellectual disability and epilepsy, communicates using gestures and body language.

He suffered a second-degree carpet burn to the upper middle of his back, and still bears a scar. However he did not receive medical attention for more than 24 hours. An incident report by one of the carers did not state that they had dragged him along the carpet. Instead, her report refers to him ‘‘crawling from upper back to wards [sic] kitchen’’, implying his injury was self-inflicted. Mr Brouwer said the DHS manager who was initially informed of the incident claimed the matter had been investigated, when it had not. The report found that at the time of the incident and its aftermath the department failed to investigate the matter, correctly categorise it, notify relevant parties or take appropriate action against the staff members responsible for the injury.

It criticised the department’s response and found that the department had conducted an ‘‘informal information gathering process’’ and did not take any disciplinary action in relation to the resident’s carers. Mr Brouwer recommended that the department consider taking disciplinary action against the staff involved in the assault and the managers who failed to investigate. He also recommended that the employment of acting manager of disability accommodation services Monica White be reviewed, and that a web-based reporting system be introduced.



