A man with a disability who was operated on while still conscious has called for colour-coded medical files to notify when patients need specific care, an inquiry has been told.
Corey Burke is among the witnesses giving evidence at a two-day hearing of the Disability Royal Commission examining the training of health professions.
He wants doctors and nurses to have a better understanding of the needs of patients with disability, especially during hospital visits that produce stress and anxiety.
Mr Burke told the royal commission that his adrenaline could rise when going into hospital for operations and said he normally took a mentor with him to stay calm.
He recounted one occasion when the anaesthetist sent his mentor out of the room.
"They gave me the anaesthetic, but I didn't go under. I was still conscious. I tried to tell them but they did the operation anyway", he said.
"I think this wouldn't have happened if my mentor was in the room with me. My mentor would have helped me to keep me calm and stopped my adrenaline going up."
Mr Burke called for colour coding on medical files so health professionals would know they were dealing with someone who had a disability, including the category of disability, "even if they're busy and don't have time to read the file".
"People should know that if a person is having a meltdown, it may be part of their disability and it isn't because they are a bad person," he said.
"People don't always know that I have a disability. My disability isn't visible, so people don't really know when they meet me."
Mr Burke is working on a project to develop training for nurses to better understand people with disability and helps develop scripts for training videos.
The hearing continues on Wednesday.
