The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park Hotel, commencing 17 February 2020, for a period of up to two weeks. The hearing will be the start of the Royal Commission's examination of issues relating to the provision of health care to people with disability.
This hearing will be looking more specifically at the provision of health care or services for people with cognitive disability, including people with intellectual disability, autism and acquired brain injuries.
While this hearing is not limited to any particular State or Territory, it will examine, in particular, at the health system in New South Wales and 'promising practices' in the provision of health care or services to people with cognitive disability.
The issues that the hearing will explore include:
- barriers faced by people with cognitive disability when accessing and receiving health care and services, including barriers to communication and health professionals' attitudes, values and assumptions
- training and education of health professionals with respect to patients with cognitive disability
- delayed diagnoses and misdiagnoses of people with cognitive disability
- life expectancy of people with cognitive disability (particularly people with intellectual disability and people with autism)
- specific issues for First Nations people with cognitive disability with respect to health care and services.
Anyone wishing to provide information to the Royal Commission relating to the subject of the hearing or any other matter within the Royal Commission's Terms of Reference can make a submission, as set out on our website.
The Royal Commission has also released an issues paper on health care for people with cognitive disability (external website, opens in external window/tab), which is available on our website. Individuals and organisations who wish to respond to that issues paper are encouraged to do so.