I Send E-Mails To The OPG And QCAT

I Send E-Mails To The OPG And QCAT

Just a quick reminder: The OPG is The Office of the Public Guardian; QCAT stands for Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

I am never one to fire off e-mails, missives, letters etc., without thinking twice or thrice about it; but having heard nothing back from earlier e-mails I sent to the OPG, and not having had any confirmation from QCAT that they had received a copy of the OPG Report, I spent another 24 hours writing a "chivvy" ("are you getting on with it?") e-mail, first to the OPG and then, a day later, also copying it to the person appointed to handle the case at QCAT.

The first part of the e-mail is just reiterating what I had already flagged up in previous correspondence, but then I added more paragraphs to remind them that, when it comes to keeping older people active and happy and communicative,  I do know what I am talking about; after all, we loved and looked after Mum for 8 years, and she was always included in everything we did, and we encouraged to talk to all our friends and neighbours.

I hope you might also be able to view on You Tube the video I refer to in the email below - it of Uncle John talking to me in March, 2019.

Here is the extra information contained in those latest two e-mails sent last week to the authorities:


"I will attach a video Wendy made when we visited Uncle John in Princess Alexandra Hospital in March last year. My Grandson, Al, has made a file of it that he uploaded onto YouTube (he is a whizz when it comes to computers), so I hope you will be able to take five minutes to view it, and you’ll see how well Uncle John remembers things, and how he loved to reminisce about what he has done in his life. He is such an interesting gentleman.

Here is the YouTube link for you to view the video - you may have to copy this and paste into your browser https://youtu.be/H97l8T9aa6A  

I can only pray that QCAT will be able to help us get back in contact with Uncle John. If he has not been able to talk to anyone on the phone for nearly a year, I am not surprised if he is no longer keen to try using that method of communication now, and if the lady you saw checking his hearing aids and batteries was there when Uncle John was asleep, how could she know if the hearing aids were still functional for him, and if the ear pieces still fitted him properly? When Uncle John first moved to the TriCare nursing home, the staff said they could arrange calls on FaceTime, and when Wendy was with him in June last year, he was certainly happy to chat on Skype.

It is a fact that people become more withdrawn the longer they are left in isolation, and that is the situation my Uncle has found himself in: Cut off from his family through a vindictive attitude set forth by his son as a result of what has been confessed to be a deep-set hatred towards his dad. The situation we find ourselves, in which a brother is unaware of his elder sister's death, is shocking. Johnny is not using his power of attorney to care or protect his dad, he is using it to hold his father prisoner - to keep him segregated from the people who love him. 

I believe further mediation will fail. Johnny is ignoring, and will continue to ignore, not just general principle eight, but his father entirely. If the stance of the Office of the Public Guardian is to issue their report, give recommendations, and then not ensure those recommendations are enforced, is the Office truly doing everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable? I feel my Uncle has been let down and is continuing to be let down, being kept from even merely speaking to his family – now for nearly a year - since 22 June 2019. 

I sent forms by courier to QCAT in January, including Form 10 (appointing a formal Guardian/Administrator) and an Interim Order Application, which I understood would be actioned within 6 weeks. I have heard nothing from Mrs Taylor about how any application is progressing, so I hold out little hope there. 

I look forward to receiving your earliest reply."


So there you have it: the e-mails probably won't do much good, and I'll bet anyone five pounds to a pinch of pepper they won't come back to me, but at least I feel better for having written them!