Post by Lux on Jul 13, 2008 11:40:18 GMT 12
Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 13 July 2008
Troubled rest home Belhaven where an elderly woman's mouth was taped closed for being "too noisy" is under fire again.
A Health Ministry investigation into the Epsom, Auckland, rest home found another resident a man in his 70s had been locked outside in the middle of the night for being too loud.
"When we started our investigation of the resident with tape over her mouth, we had another reported incident which we've investigated," Health Ministry quality and safety manager Rose Wall said.
"It occurred last year and relates to one of the male residents being locked outside during the night."
Wall said "it appears he was locked out by a staff member" in the middle of the night before eventually being let back in.
She could not comment on what action was taken against the staff member or if they still worked at Belhaven.
Wall said the result of the Health Ministry investigation, including whether Belhaven would be closed, would be revealed in the next few days.
The investigation and a police inquiry were launched after the Sunday News revealed two week ago that the woman had been gagged.
The mouth-taping was discovered by a tradesman who was so shocked he secretly recorded the image with a cellphone and alerted Sunday News and police.
Police arrested a former Belhaven rest home worker on Friday afternoon. The 60-year-old woman will appear at Auckland District Court later this week on a charge of common assault.
The Auckland District Health Board terminated its contract with Belhaven on Thursday and, on Friday, six of its 12 residents were removed by health officials. Auckland DHB chief planning and funding officer Denis Jury said the decision to terminate the contract had been based on the preliminary findings of the ministry's investigation and recommendations of the temporary manager appointed by the board following the gagging revelation.
"While the majority of [Belhaven's] staff were doing their best, it was the view of the temporary manager that the facility was unable to ensure required standards of care set out in the contract would be provided to the residents, and Belhaven's management could not remedy these breaches," Jury said.
On Friday, Sunday News witnessed two female residents including the woman whose mouth was gagged being transported by ambulance to the Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital, nearby in Epsom. Staff at the new rest home refused to comment on how many patients had been transferred there.
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It's frightening to think that our elderly folk are being subjected to such horrors, and it's only the tip of the ice burg being reported.
Rest homes have got to be more regulated and background research done on the people who are running these hell holes. The people working in them need to have specific training and some qualification in the care of the elderly. You'd think this Country would be more on to it knowing that our elderly population is growing so rapidly...and that this was forecasted many many moons ago.
Another of societies failures...disrespecting and treating abominably
our old people, our blood.
Troubled rest home Belhaven where an elderly woman's mouth was taped closed for being "too noisy" is under fire again.
A Health Ministry investigation into the Epsom, Auckland, rest home found another resident a man in his 70s had been locked outside in the middle of the night for being too loud.
"When we started our investigation of the resident with tape over her mouth, we had another reported incident which we've investigated," Health Ministry quality and safety manager Rose Wall said.
"It occurred last year and relates to one of the male residents being locked outside during the night."
Wall said "it appears he was locked out by a staff member" in the middle of the night before eventually being let back in.
She could not comment on what action was taken against the staff member or if they still worked at Belhaven.
Wall said the result of the Health Ministry investigation, including whether Belhaven would be closed, would be revealed in the next few days.
The investigation and a police inquiry were launched after the Sunday News revealed two week ago that the woman had been gagged.
The mouth-taping was discovered by a tradesman who was so shocked he secretly recorded the image with a cellphone and alerted Sunday News and police.
Police arrested a former Belhaven rest home worker on Friday afternoon. The 60-year-old woman will appear at Auckland District Court later this week on a charge of common assault.
The Auckland District Health Board terminated its contract with Belhaven on Thursday and, on Friday, six of its 12 residents were removed by health officials. Auckland DHB chief planning and funding officer Denis Jury said the decision to terminate the contract had been based on the preliminary findings of the ministry's investigation and recommendations of the temporary manager appointed by the board following the gagging revelation.
"While the majority of [Belhaven's] staff were doing their best, it was the view of the temporary manager that the facility was unable to ensure required standards of care set out in the contract would be provided to the residents, and Belhaven's management could not remedy these breaches," Jury said.
On Friday, Sunday News witnessed two female residents including the woman whose mouth was gagged being transported by ambulance to the Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital, nearby in Epsom. Staff at the new rest home refused to comment on how many patients had been transferred there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's frightening to think that our elderly folk are being subjected to such horrors, and it's only the tip of the ice burg being reported.
Rest homes have got to be more regulated and background research done on the people who are running these hell holes. The people working in them need to have specific training and some qualification in the care of the elderly. You'd think this Country would be more on to it knowing that our elderly population is growing so rapidly...and that this was forecasted many many moons ago.
Another of societies failures...disrespecting and treating abominably
our old people, our blood.
