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This story was originally posted on RNZ.co.nz and is being republished with permission.
A Lower Hutt resthome is under investigation for allegations of verbal and physical abuse, neglect and intimidation of residents and staff.
The Hutt Valley District Board of Health is investigating five complaints at the Woburn Masonic Care home: four last year and one this year.
An unidentified staff member sent an email to the Commissioner of Health and Disabilities, warning that “someone will die unnecessarily and prematurely if someone does not take a closer look at this home.”
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An independent advocate spoke with several residents in 2019 and informed them that they felt “scared and intimidated” to raise concerns about their care with management.
The home told the commissioner that surveys of residents showed high satisfaction and feelings of security.
The “very confident” managers and staff had acted appropriately.
‘Worried enough’
The commissioner closed each of his own investigations, saying in some cases that he could not determine what had happened, but was “concerned enough” that in April of this year he alerted the DHB.
The DHB investigation is still continuing six months later at the 57-room house in the most exclusive suburb of Hutt.
“We are continuing to investigate all these matters to ensure the safety of the residents,” DHB CEO Fionnagh Dougan told RNZ in a statement.
Woburn passed its last independent audit in 2018 without incurring high-risk red flags.
The five complaints are among 107 received by HealthCERT this year, and 132 last year, against certified health care providers.
‘So much bullying and fighting’
Two of the five complaints come from a family that says their mother’s care was poor, and one went so far as to say that this contributed to her death.
The commissioner does not agree with this, saying that the house was “attentive” to the woman’s pain; however, the HDC was “concerned” by reports of theft and “intimidation by staff.”
Two unidentified staff members complained about the rough treatment of residents, including pushing, and one elderly man was told that staff were “fed up with their shit” and to “get out,” it was claimed.
In the other case, the author said that the tense situation was unnecessarily aggravated due to lack of skill.
Another unidentified staff member, in lengthy emails to HDC, stated that “two of our residents died and they really had no need to.”
Staff were scarce and attention was missed or rushed. “There is so much intimidation and fighting,” they said, without making it clear who was fighting whom.
Staff expressed fear of being punished for speaking out.
The National Health and Disability Defense Service, an independent trust that handles 3,000 complaints a year, met with residents at the home for an hour in 2019.
Several residents spoke of feeling “intimidated and scared when they raised concerns with management” about their care, the advocate wrote to HDC.
A common concern was the “fear of being taken out of the house.”
Satisfaction and safety plus-90%
The housing management defended his care in each case before the HDC.
The new house manager had made “major changes” to support residents and families.
The home scored in the 90 percent range on surveys of resident satisfaction and their sense of security to speak, above industry benchmarks, he said.
Staffing exceeded recommended minimums, it added.
Warick Dunn, executive director of the Masonic Villages Trust that manages the house, would not be interviewed, but in a statement to RNZ said: “We are all disappointed that these complaints have been raised, but I am very confident that we and our staff have acted. appropriately. in this matter. “
The home took patient care and safety very seriously and had cooperated fully with HDC investigations, he said.
He was waiting for the DHB to carry out their review, Dunn said.
The Hutt Valley DHB has not explained how it ensures everyone is safe, saying only that it was “working with” the home.
When RNZ asked if more regular monitoring was taking place, or if it had facilitated residents speaking, the board said it was “inappropriate to comment on actions taken until this process has been completed and the findings and recommendations determined. ”.
DHB, and the ministry’s HealthCERT quality control body, were able to “take action quickly,” the Health and Disability Commissioner said in OIA documents.
This story was originally posted on RNZ.co.nz and is being republished with permission.
