Tasmanian NDIS participant Adam Quarrell demanding apology over handling of his case
Adam Quarrell says if he doesn't have catheters his life "will rapidly deteriorate". (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
In short:
Hobart man Adam Quarrell was asked "can't you just hold it in" when discussing his need for catheters with an NDIS planner.
Mr Quarrell's funding for catheters has been running out and he wants a review of his plan.
What's next?
The National Disability Insurance Agency has apologised to Mr Quarrell for "delays", but Mr Quarrell still wants an apology for how he was treated, from the NDIA and the responsible minister, Bill Shorten.
Adam Quarrell describes being an NDIS participant as like "being in an abusive relationship".
"We get kicked in the guts, we get slapped around," Mr Quarrell said.
"Yet we have to keep going back to them because they are our only source of support."
The Hobart man's frustration is palpable.
He's outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) offices on one of the city's main streets, delivering a letter that he hopes will spark some action, and an apology.
Mr Quarrell has been on the NDIS since 2019, but a review of his plan about six months ago has left him furious.
Adam Quarrell wants a review of his NDIS care plan and an apology for the way he has been treated. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
He has a neurological condition that is progressing and causing bladder retention issues, meaning he needs to use catheters.
Ahead of a meeting to discuss his plan in June, Mr Quarrell had provided the NDIS with a functional assessment from an occupational therapist which included details about his need for catheters.
Loading...But he said the NDIS planner he dealt with in a phone meeting either couldn't understand it or hadn't read it.
"So, I was asked by this planner, 'can't you just hold it in'," he told ABC Radio Hobart's Breakfast program.
"For a moment I thought she was joking [but] that line kept being spun to me, 'can't you just hold it in'?
"I'm not inserting catheters for fun, mate," Mr Quarrell said.
Adam Quarrell says an NDIS planner asked him, "can't you just hold it in" when he was discussing his need for catheters. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Mr Quarrell said he was given enough funding for catheters for six months, but now had very little funding left in his plan for catheters, and would need to access another pool of his funding to buy more, affecting other supports he accesses.
He's been asking for a review of his plan, and has provided the National Disability Insurance Agency, the agency that implements the scheme, with letters from his continence nurse and urologist.
But he said he'd been told he needed to have a five-hour continence assessment.
"They have everything they could possibly have to justify me having a piss for the next six months," he said.
"If I don't have those catheters, I'm in hospital, I'll have infections. My life will rapidly deteriorate. I won't be here anymore.
"That's not dramatic, that's just the way it is."
Mr Quarrell wants an apology from the NDIA and the responsible minister, Bill Shorten.
After speaking on live radio, contacting the Tasmanian Disability Services Minister and staging a sit-in outside the NDIS office in Hobart on Thursday, Mr Quarrell was contacted by the NDIA, which said it would provide catheter funding for the next six months, but still wanted him to undertake a five-hour continence assessment.
Jo Palmer says she advocated on Mr Quarrell's behalf directly to the NDIS's chief executive. (ABC News: Jordan Young)
In a statement, a spokesperson for the NDIA said it had been "in contact with Adam to apologise for the delay".
"And will continue to work with him to ensure he has the disability-related supports he needs, including adequate continence supports."
Tasmanian Disability Services Minister, Jo Palmer, said she had been "deeply distressed by Adam's experience with the NDIS on this matter", and had advocated directly to the agency's chief executive officer, Rebecca Falkingham.
Mr Shorten's office directed the ABC's questions about Mr Quarrell's situation to the NDIA.
Mr Quarrell said he was still waiting for an apology from the NDIA for how he had been treated.
Adam Quarrell and his supporters protested outside the NDIS office in Hobart. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)