Dinesh Palipana tipped from wheelchair at Brisbane Airport
Virgin Australia has apologised after former Queensland Australian of the year Dinesh Palipana was tipped from his wheelchair by a staff member at Brisbane airport. Doctor Palipana was travelling to Melbourne to give a talk on disability and inclusion when the virgin ground crew member ignored his care-givers and he was toppled from his chair.
Transcript
00:00 On his way to Melbourne to give a talk about disability and inclusion, the esteemed Queensland
00:07 Doctor's voice was ignored. While boarding the Virgin Australia flight, Dinesh Palipana
00:13 says a staff member did not take the advice of his carers.
00:17 Sadly the ground crew member didn't really take much input from my guys and didn't really
00:24 listen.
00:26 His wheelchair was moved without the support of his team and the distressing incident occurred.
00:32 The staff member took a turn quite sharply and I just fell out of the wheelchair and
00:37 that was it.
00:38 Doctor Palipana says he is considering having scans to confirm there are no injuries from
00:44 the fall.
00:45 Because the pain pathways are disrupted, your body responds in all sorts of different ways
00:51 to pain and injury. I was sweating and even today I've been sweating on and off.
00:56 In a statement, Virgin Australia says it deeply regrets the incident and has apologised and
01:02 investigation is underway.
01:04 The safety issue is far from isolated, with the chair of the Disability Royal Commission
01:10 writing to airline bosses earlier this year, outlining experiences of damage to wheelchairs,
01:16 people being dropped on the floor, limited access to safe ramps and discrimination against
01:22 those who rely on assistance animals.
01:25 Advocates say people often arrive to find their wheelchair has been left behind.
01:31 Their apparatus and their equipment often don't arrive on time. It shouldn't be happening.
01:34 We should know better.
01:35 For Doctor Palipana, the solutions are simple.
01:39 Some of it is actually just about listening to the passenger. Just take a minute, listen,
01:45 be kind, involve the family and carers. I think that's really important.
01:50 Virgin says it will work to ensure an incident like this does not happen again.
01:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]