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ACT News

Aged home residents 'treated like dirt'

February 5, 2012
Aged home residents 'treated like dirt'

Jacqui Storrs was a founding member of the Brindabella Gardens aged care home auxiliary and continues to pay her membership fee every year.

But after learning that sanctions had been imposed on the Curtin home's sister facility, Ginninderra Gardens, Mrs Storrs felt compelled to speak out about the poor standard of care her husband and other Brindabella Gardens residents received in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The Anglicare-owned Ginninderra Gardens in Holt has been banned from accepting new residents for six months after a range of problems were identified, including failures to meet nutritional needs of residents and to provide dignified care to the terminally ill.

Mrs Storrs and several family members of former Brindabella Gardens residents said reading the reports about Ginninderra Gardens was like watching history repeat itself.

Mrs Storrs said some staff had been dedicated and caring but many others had not been interested in providing proper care to residents.

''Nine times out of 10 they've got people who don't really want the job. They've got no empathy for the residents, they treat them like dirt,'' she said.

Mrs Storrs said staff had left her husband unattended on a toilet for at least two hours; had been physically rough with her husband and other residents; had left her husband in bed for excessive amounts of time, leading to bedsores; and had failed to conduct requested physiotherapy.

She said residents who required assistance eating were often fed meals which were cold or did not receive any help at all.

Mrs Storrs said she had been too frightened to complain too much while her husband was still alive.

Lynn Russell's late mother Anne Russell was bedridden when she suffered a broken knee cap at Ginninderra Gardens in 1997. Ms Russell said she unsuccessfully requested an investigation into the incident.

Ms Russell said her mother was in agony when staff disobeyed medical instructions by removing a splint from her knee, which doctors had said should remain in place for six weeks.

On another occasion, Ms Russell's mother suffered blood poisoning from a wound on her arm which appeared to have been caused by another person.

Ms Russell said she and other families tried to assist at the home through the residents' committee, but their concerns were often ignored by managers.

Mrs Storrs and Ms Russell said a group of residents' relatives met senior Anglican Church officials in 2000 and were told a new manager would be put in charge of rectifying problems. But they did not believe things really improved.

Anglicare took over responsibility for Brindabella Gardens and Ginninderra Gardens in 2007 when it amalgamated with Anglican Retirement Community Services.

Anglicare chief executive Peter Sandeman said he believed problems at Brindabella Gardens had been overcome in recent years and similar improvements could be made at Ginninderra Gardens.

''Brindabella Gardens has enjoyed an enviable and well- deserved reputation for high-quality care in a loving community, as well as a history of accreditation and standards assessments over the past decade,'' Mr Sandeman said.

''Unlike Ginninderra Gardens, Brindabella Gardens has been stable for a long time. The issues of that time were resolved as the new team did overcome the difficulties.

''This gives us hope today that we can achieve the same sustainable change at Ginninderra Gardens.''

Mr Sandeman urged anyone with concerns about any Anglicare aged care facilities to contact him.

Neil Stevenson, of Fisher, whose wife Ros has been a resident of Brindabella Gardens since October 2010, said he was extremely happy with the care staff provided.

''I've never had any reason to complain,'' he said.