Useless organisation rewarded

It was reported in the bought and paid for media of Bathurst on Tuesday that Interchange Bathurst had been given $80,000 to fund ten new respite places despite other organisations with a proven track record being snubbed for the funding.

Staff from another respite organisation in Bathurst contacted Carenne Gate to complain about the funding being given to Interchange. They claim that Interchange had a history of financial mismanagement under Nola Ramsay, that one staff member had a sexual relationship with a client and that clients were placed at risk by dangerous drivers.

Interchange has long been known to employ inexperienced staff and to give them insufficient training. The level of supervision by management is also seriously lacking. According to the manager of another respite organisation many clients have left and gone elsewhere as the environment at Interchange is not safe.

The government shouldn't be supporting an organisation as useless and inept as Interchange.

Parents demand answers from Interchange after accident

On Tuesday, an accident involving one of Interchange Bathurst's buses occurred on the Great Western Highway East of Bathurst. At the time six disabled teenagers were on board the vehicle, which was being driven by 19 year-old P-plater Matthew Daley.

According to a statement in the Western Advocate, Police believe that the driver lost control of the vehicle when he veered into loose gravel on the shoulder of the road. The vehicle left the road hitting a tree and rolled two or three times.

The driver and all passengers in the vehicle were taken to Bathurst Hospital as a precautionary measure.

A number of parents have contacted Carenne Gate dismayed with Interchange management's handling of the accident. One parent said "I can't believe Melinda Phillips believes this is a non-issue, she said it could of happened to anyone. Well it wouldn't happen if they had experienced drivers driving their vehicles. They don't care about the safety of our children."

Another parent claimed to have been badgered by Phillips. "She called me up to tell me there had been an accident and my son was being taken to the hospital. I was quite panicked and she then said 'I need to ask will you be suing us, if you sue we may not be able to provide a service to your son'", said the parent.

Carenne Gate spoke to Bathurst Police who said investigations were continuing into the accident and they believe the statement provided by the driver was inaccurate. Police said that Daley would be charged with negligent driving over the accident.

A whistleblower at Interchange told Carenne Gate that there had previously been complaints about Daley's driving. The whistleblower said that he was aware that Daley had been observed driving in erratically and in excess of the speed limit on a number of occasions. The whistleblower said that he himself had made a complaint to Phillips about Daley's maturity. "He is only 19, 20 next month and of course he is still pretty immature, he has a good rapport with the kids but he should be better supervised."

Another organisation for disabled children in Bathurst is a farce

My contact with Melinda Phillips who runs the Interchange respite service in Bathurst has discovered it to be another farce which believes it is above the law and do what it likes in a similar vain to Carenne Special School in Bathurst. Just like Carenne, there have been allegations of information leaks and of a sexual relationship between a worker and client.

A whistleblower employed at Interchange contacted Carenne Gate to report some of the goings on at the service which I attempted to discuss with Ms Phillips who refused to respond. According to staff at Carenne she did however contact Neil Moon at Carenne saying that she had been contacted by Carenne Gate.

It has been alleged that Samantha Durham at Interchange has been publicly releasing information about clients, some of which has ended up on this blog. This same person was also reported to have been in a sexual relationship with a client to the knowledge of Ms Phillips and other staff at the service. Only a single whistleblower made a proper report to the NSW Ombudsman about her conduct.

Yet another organisation dealing with vulnerable children associated with Carenne has shown itself to be inept and needing a serious overhaul.