Home shut after woman, 103, found tied to bed

A rest home has been closed after an inspection team found a 103-year-old woman tied to her bed with a sheet.

MidCentral District Health Board (DHB) terminated its contract with the Rose A Lea Rest home in Palmerston North after sending in an emergency inspection team last week.

It came after a complaint from Julie Ireland, who has worked in the care industry for 21 years and was given cellphone photos of the home by a nurse who worked there.

One picture showed the elderly woman tied to her bed and another showed bedsores on her knee, the Manawatu Standard reported. The 13 residents of the 25-bed home had been moved out and the DHB has severed its contract with owners Bryan and Joyce Wenmoth.

Ms Ireland was approached two weeks ago by a worker at the home, she told Radio New Zealand. The registered nurse, who was also one of the home's owners, was rarely there, leaving unqualified staff to give morphine and insulin injections. Toilets and bathrooms were only cleaned once a week and faeces-soiled clothes were poorly washed. "There was no spray system, you know, to get faeces off clothing," Ms Ireland said.

The incontinence bin for collecting adult diapers was only emptied once a week.

"Her words to me were 'I wouldn't let my dog live in that place'. She said it was a hell-hole," Ms Ireland said. The 13 residents were given one loaf of bread per day.

The home had passed an audit in March.

"One of the residents ... had been tied to the bed to keep her legs straight. I asked if they had a restraint policy. The way they were doing it was pretty rough."

- NZPA