Police are investigating after a young disabled man was left bloodied and bruised after being allegedly assaulted while in the care of support workers at an NDIS home.
Corey Wooller, who lives with severe autism and is non-verbal, was allegedly attacked in an NDIS-supported house in Western Australia on December 14.
His injuries were only discovered when his mother, Kim McBrearty, made an unexpected visit to the ‘My Way’ home and found the 25-year-old laying on the couch.
She said he’d been left for hours without any medical care.
‘You don’t want to put your children in these places, and you put your trust and care in these people,’ Ms McBrearty told 7News on Wednesday.
‘And they’re getting good money for doing it, and they’re just not doing it. I mean, that’s definitely neglect.’
Horrific photos of Corey’s injuries show his right arm covered in large, dark bruises, deep red markings down his back and blood smeared across his face.
Ms McBrearty said she had to demand an ambulance be called to attend to her son, who later spent four weeks in hospital.
Corey, who lives with severe autism, was allegedly attacked in an NDIS-supported home in WA
While Corey’s injuries were patched up and healed, Ms McBrearty said the mental scars left by the incident have changed him – he no longer allows his mum to hug him.
My Way CEO, Peter Mapior, told the Daily Mail Corey is currently being supported by ‘family-trusted support workers’ in a different house offered by the accommodation provider.
‘The support worker who was on shift on the day of incident is no longer supporting Corey, and is being investigated and under performance management,’ Mr Mapior said.
‘Without even knowing what happen, we felt remorse for what Corey went through whether medical or injury, we stood with Corey’s mother and family, we continue to support Kim and Corey until today.’
He previously said Corey has a chronic blood disorder which can cause his skin to bruise.
‘Due to haematological disorders, Corey when he scratches himself the skin pigmentation was observed by support workers,’ he said.
‘The mother instructed support workers to use skin creams whenever the skin pigmentations are observed. There may be other underlying medical reasons, as [to] why skin pigmentations will surface sometimes and disappear.’
Mr Mapior said the accommodation provider has now trained staff to take a ‘proactive response’ and call My Way nurses, their after-hours care coordinator, or call emergency services ‘whenever they observe unusual signs and symptoms with any person with disability who can’t express themselves or describe the pains.’
The 25-year-old was in the care of support workers when his mum found him injured
My Way CEO, Peter Mapior, said Corey had a ‘chronic blood disorder’ which caused the bruises
Ms McBrearty said the accommodation provider, which prides itself on treating ‘people with disability, families or carers with deep respect, dignity, and as equal citizens’, has not told the family about what happened during the incident.
The WA-based provider offers three types of NDIS supported housing – individualised living options for participants who can live independently with minimal support, supported independent living for participants with more complex needs, and specialist disability accommodation (SDA) for participants with very complex needs.
According to the My Way website, the SDA homes are purpose-built housing that can be designed based on specific participant needs.
For example, participants with autism may have sensory devices built into their homes.
WA Police confirmed they are investigating the incident, however, will not be looking into Ms McBrearty’s allegation of neglect as it is not a criminal matter.
Daily Mail has contacted WA’s Minister for Disability Services, Hannah Beazley, for comment.
