Rest home shut after audit finds woman tied to bed

A Palmerston North rest home has been shut down 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 after sending in an emergency inspection team last week.

The inspection was spurred by a complaint from 21-year veteran of the aged care industry Julie Ireland.

Ms Ireland did not work at the rest home, but was given cellphone photos of conditions at the home by someone who did.

Some of the photos showed the elderly woman tied to her bed with a sheet. Another showed the bedsores on the woman's knee, the Manawatu Standard reported.

The 13 residents of the 25-bed home had since been moved out, with the DHB severing its contract with owners Bryan and Joyce Wenmoth today.

The four-member audit team found problems in how the rest home handled infection control, duty of care, health and safety, and medication for its elderly clients.

Ms Ireland was approached two weeks ago by a caregiver who worked at the rest 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 administer morphine and give insulin injections.

Toilets and bathrooms were only cleaned once a week and faeces-soiled clothes were poorly washe d.

"There was no spray system, you know, to get faeces off clothing - it was just a running tap, and she said you can't get clothes clean properly."

The "incontinence bin", a container for collecting adult diapers and other sanitary products, was only emptied once a week, compared to the daily attentions it received in most other homes, she said.

"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 only allocated a single loaf of bread per day, and caregivers often did not have enough food for the residents, she said.

The home had passed an audit in March.

"One of the residents...had been tied to the bed with a sheet, to keep her legs straight. I asked [the caregiver who worked at the Rose A Lea home] if they had a restraint policy about that.

"After a bit...she found out there was no restraint policy, but the way they were doing it was pretty rough," she told the radio station.

The conditions in the Rose A Lea home were the exception, rather than the rule, she said.

- NZPA