Tuesday, 23 May 2023
MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall has thrown his support behind a push for the establishment of a Parliamentary Inquiry to investigate how the State’s police and emergency services can be better equipped to deal with people living with cognitive impairment and cognitive decline.
Mr Marshall said the recent incident involving Clare Nowland, a 95-year-old dementia patient who was tasered in an NSW nursing home, had shocked the community and should never be repeated.
“I’m supporting the calls for a Parliamentary Inquiry to examine the training provided to police and first responders in how they manage people with dementia or a disability,” Mr Marshall said.
“I’m not interested in probing the handling of the last week’s traumatic and shocking incident – the existing procedures to do this are robust and are underway – and we should instead be looking at what can be done to ensure, as best we can, this never happens again.
“The inquiry should review if Police and our frontline emergency services across the State have access to adequate training to do their job and keep society’s most vulnerable people safe.
“Like so many people who have reached out to me over the weekend, I was shocked and sickened by reports of Mrs Nowland being tasered by Police.
“It’s a traumatic time for so many people and I feel we owe it to families of loved ones in care, as well as our Police and emergency services, to ensure every resource and training is provided to those who serve and protect our community.
“This is about strengthening education around those living with a disability and/or dementia and I hope a real difference can be made in this area.”