In July I was admitted to hospital in Queensland, where I live. I was there for two weeks and watched as other patients were moved and encouraged to discharge to make room for the rapid influx of new patients At one stage, I was moved into a repurposed ‘treatment room’ which was usually used for storage.
This room had no windows and the person delivering my meals missed me for the first 36 hours I was in there. Sometimes nurses couldn’t find me and, on one occasion, the doctors missed their round as I ‘could not be located’ in this room.
There were no COVID cases in the hospital at the time. What my experience makes clear is that our healthcare system is at capacity.
What would my medical care, and the care of the many others, have looked like if there were COVID patients admitted as well? How does the medical system have capacity to ‘live with COVID’ as proposed – especially during the ‘adjustment period’ of the country reopening?
Communities in Melbourne and Sydney would understand the implications, having coped with additional COVID patients. We’ve heard stories of courage and fear recounted from those on the frontline, and from people in the disability community who’ve faced risk when receiving their regular care – or have had it postponed.
I am not an epidemiologist and, if I’m honest, I’ve been hiding from the news, so I’m not going to make any predictions about what life will be like post-restrictions. But the idea of ‘living with COVID’, with the return of international mobility and possible introduction of new and evolving strains, makes me fear for our health system and how it will cope.
I worry that people who are ‘vulnerable’, like me, will be concerned about accessing their regular medical care because of the risk of contracting COVID. Keeping in mind that some people with complex medical needs cannot have the vaccine - making them more at risk. I’m also dreading the possibility of additional healthcare barriers, if our healthcare system were to reach capacity.
But I’m trying to be positive – and remind myself that we’ve adapted before, and will again. We can navigate our way out of this together. We need to learn quickly. We need to continue to respect each other, our choices, and the emotions created by times of uncertainty and change. We can innovate to find sustainable strategies. We need to include everyone in developing a way forward, including those with lived experience and community voices at strategic levels.
As someone with a disability and complex medical needs, the health system is my lifeline. The government is navigating our ‘way out’ of lockdowns and restrictions, but it feels like some of us may be forced into even greater social isolation.
I can only hope this ‘way out’ includes and prioritises the voices of the people most vulnerable to COVID and considers the barriers that our disability and aged community face. Being an afterthought, at a time like this, will cost lives.
