Cher Jimenez
Sanctions have been imposed on a Traralgon aged care home after a range of breaches that posed an immediate and severe risk to the residents were found during a surprise audit.
The sanctions, which include withholding government subsidies for new care recipients for the next six months were imposed on Bupa Aged Care after an unannounced audit showed breaches in safety, personal care and management standards at its Traralgon home.
The sanctions imposed by the federal health department on July 27 also revoked Bupa Traralgon’s approved provider status until it was able to appoint an adviser and administrator, and agreed to train staff at its own expense.
Bupa moved quickly to address the issues and appointed an administrator and an adviser on August 2 and 7, respectively.
On Friday a meeting between the company, residents and families of care recipients was held at the Park Lane home to discuss what the company was doing to correct its failures.
An audit by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency from July 16 to 25 revealed breaches in the accreditation standards of human resource management, medication and pain management, and living environment.
“The department identified that there is an immediate and severe risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of care recipients at the service following information received from the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency,” according to the government’s My Aged Care website.
A spokeswoman from the health department has confirmed sanctions were imposed against Bupa “due to an immediate and severe risk to care recipients’ health, safety and wellbeing”.
“It is the responsibility of providers to meet the required aged care quality standards and where they fail to do this, there is a regulatory framework in place to bring them back into compliance as quickly as possible,” the spokeswoman said.
A letter sent by the department to families of residents advised them of the results of the audits.
“Bupa Traralgon will not receive payments from the Australian Government for new residents until 27 January 2019. Limiting the number of residents who can be accepted in the home helps the home to focus on fixing the problem for current residents,” the letter, signed by National Aged Care Compliance Centre director Elsy Brammesan reads.
On Friday, an apologetic Bupa met with residents and their families to discuss how the company was correcting the breaches.
“Bupa apologises unreservedly to Bupa Traralgon residents and their families and is committed to resolving issues at the home, which do not reflect our standards. These issues are unacceptable,” Bupa Villages & Aged Care chief operating officer Maureen Berry said in a statement.
“We make it our priority to provide a safe and supportive environment for our residents and we accept the Department’s findings that in this case there have been failings.”She said the company, one of Australia’s largest residential aged care providers, had appointed a new general manager and was in the process of hiring additional registered nurses and carers.
Ms Berry said Bupa had also appointed an operations managers on site and employed external advisors to review their approach.
Bupa’s apology, however, came too late for the family of Heather Mayes.
Ms Mayes mother, Christina Monks, died at the Traralgon home on July 13.
While Ms Mayes does not blame Bupa for her mum’s death, she reckoned the 79-year-old would not have “given up so easily” if only she was receiving the “proper care”.
“For us it’s too little too late. If mum got the proper care she may have not considered going – she’s got fed up with all of it,” Ms Mayes told The Express.
Ms Mayes said she and her sister, Sharon Hales, noticed that service quality at the home started “getting bad” eight to 12 months ago.
She said it took time to find a staff when residents needed them and that medications were sometimes given late.
Ms Mayes, a Traralgon resident, said her mother was in extreme pain and had a syringe driver that delivered a relaxant and pain relief when she was at the home.
On July 11, two days before Ms Monks died, the sisters were looking for a staff member as the medical apparatus was beeping to indicate that the medication had to be replenished.
It was on this day that the sisters learnt of an inspector doing the special audit and invited him to check on their mother.
Ms Mayes, who kept a journal of her mum’s journey while at the home, said it took the nursing staff 35 minutes to change her mum’s syringe driver.
She said Friday’s meeting with Bupa was very emotional for her as she was still grieving her mum’s death.
Ms Mayes said she went to the meeting to know how the company would correct its mistakes so that other residents will not suffer the same treatment as her mum.
“I just want to follow it up so that nobody would go through what we went through. They don’t have to go through all the heartbreak that mum went through,” an emotional Ms Mayes said.
In a separate statement Ms Berry said Bupa has offered their condolences to Ms Monks’ family and that they are investigating the issue concerning staff’s response to her medication pump.
“We’re looking into what happened, but rest assured we take any complaints about clinical care very seriously,” she said.
Bupa encouraged anyone with concerns to contact them on 1300 302 350 or email support@bupacare.com.au.
