"The care I recently received"

I am a mature-age person from another country with dual citizenship been here for decades, a dwarf disabled and with underlining medical issues. I am living in the area with no family and friends to help prepare me for my upcoming surgery procedure, so it was decided I would be admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay to have surgery the next day: colonoscopy, biopsy, and gastroscopy.

About two weeks before I was to be moving into the facilities I am now living in, but because of the Covid lockdown, things were on hold, and life was in limbo. Some plans had been put in motion, such as moving out, so my things were put in storage, and I stayed in an Air B&B until the day of my surgery. 

I had told Centrelink of my situation and they told me to speak to the social worker at the hospital. 

So on the day of admitting, the staff and nurses were as kind and considerate as can be. All of that seemed to change when asked about my address, and I said I have none. For all practical purposes, I believe I was no longer looked at as a patient but as a  liability.

To the point: I had no shower in the complete time I was there, not even before surgery let alone after surgery. Due to back surgery, it's not something I can do alone, period. Another reason I was admitted for overnight stay.

The medication that I take every day for high blood pressure and nerve damage, I got none during my stay, I asked, got nothing

Because of the bowel prep, the toilet was less than clean. I even offered to clean the toilet myself, no one cleaned the toilet during my entire time there or even emptied the bins.  

I use a CPAP machine and I needed distilled water for it. I asked,  never given.

I asked to speak to the social worker. I told them my situation. The social worker told me I would be discharged a certain day (when my disability funds would be in my account by then) but then, as I understand it, they told nursing staff I was to be discharged three days before that. 

Before I was discharged I was seen by a doctor of psychiatry to access my risk of being discharged. The five-minute talk was, in my opinion, disrespectful at best and a sad joke on their department. They looked at me and asked what did I think of Joe Biden as president. I was facing two days of homeless and disability (and yes I believe hundreds if not thousands face that every day here in Australia). I replied that if they did have good intentions, could they just please leave me alone, I was tired and scared.

And so it was that I left that afternoon and got in my car and drove away, apparently no longer their concern. 

My take away from that experience, if you were normal, you were ok but, in my opinion, if you were homeless, even if temporarily, you weren't welcome, you weren't human and you sure as hell weren't going to be treated with respect and dignity. 

I think pictures of the toilet and bins would be a waste of time and space. Thank you.