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A retirement village has opened an investigation after a patient at their hospital was placed in a room with dead insects and toilet paper strewn about the bathroom for four days.
Jane Bernard, who is in her early 80s, used to work as a cleaner at Selwyn Village in Pt Chevalier.
Last week she broke her leg and was taken to Auckland City Hospital for treatment.
But because she was unwell and lived alone in her Avondale home, she was transferred to Sarah Selwyn Hospital for further care.
Her granddaughter, Jessicca Derrick, was shocked when she saw the filthy room her nana was placed in.
Jessicca Derrick was outraged when she saw the room her nana was placed in at Sarah Selwyn Hospital in Pt Chevalier, Auckland. Photo / Jessicca Derrick
"I cried, I was so upset when I saw the room," Derrick told the Herald.
"The carpet was filthy, it was not vacuumed at all, there were food crumbs, dead insects, and hair all over. Inside the bathroom, toilet paper was on the floor, like someone had recently used it, you could smell it.
"It was horrible. My nana is used to staying in a spotless house, she is very clean."
Dirty handle bars at the hospital room where Jane Bernard was transferred to. Photo / Jessicca Derrick
Derrick said she complained to the staff the next day but her concerns fell on deaf ears and no action was taken.
"My nana had to stay in that dirty room for four days, it was not until Monday afternoon when we went there and spoke to head nurse that they cleaned it.
"The worst part is my nana was not bathed for all that time, she was kept in that unhygienic place not looked after. It is unacceptable."
Dead cockroaches could be seen on the floor of the room Jessicca's nana was placed in. Photo / Jessicca Derrick
Derrick said she spoke to anyone she could find at the hospital to remedy the situation however, nobody seemed to care and one person became aggressive with her.
"I spoke to the head cleaner, she came at me aggressively and told me the room was cleaned and that I was wrong.
"I took her in the room to show her, then she apologised. This is just not good enough.
"We trust these people to take care of our sick Nana... it is shocking.
"My nana worked here as a cleaner in the past, we are from west Auckland, we know many people who have family members at Selwyn.
"This has been a very upsetting experience for us."
A spokesperson from Selwyn Foundation which oversees Sarah Selwyn Hospital said the care home had been in direct communication with the family regarding the unacceptable level of cleaning of one of their rooms.
"We have sincerely apologised to the family for this and for the way their concerns were addressed.
"We are taking this matter very seriously, as we have not met our usual high standards in this instance, and have launched a full investigation to better understand how this failure occurred."
The care home would look at how it can improve its processes both around cleaning quality control and resolving concerns more effectively when they were raised, the spokesperson said.
"So that families can be confident of receiving the highest possible standards of care and service for their loved ones.
"The room is now up to expectation and we are delighted that the resident will continue their stay with us for the forthcoming six weeks."
