by Sue Kedgley
An audience member at the Porirua meeting, Wellington region
Winnie Laban and I are well into our nationwide investigation into aged care. We have held five public meetings on aged care – four in the Wellington region and one in Nelson. Only 14 more to go!
The meetings have been well attended, and very moving and informative. It’s fantastic to hear men and women in their nineties, and aged care workers, nurses and even a doctor speaking about their concerns about the poor treatment the elderly receive in many aged care facilities around New Zealand.
We have also held private meetings with aged care workers –who are understandably reluctant to share their experiences in public, for fear of retribution.
Chatting to an audience member at the end of the Porirua meeting
And submissions are pouring in from all around the country and we have many positive suggestions for change in the sector.
I knew from personal experience before we began our investigation that there were serious problems in aged care facilities – but I had no idea how bad or how extensive they are.
The picture emerging from our meetings is that many aged care facilities are so under-staffed, it’s almost impossible for residents to get quality care.
My colleague on the Aged Care investigation tour - Labour MP Winnie Laban
One nurse I spoke to last week was responsible for the care of 33 patients and 30 people living in retirement villas, in the home she worked in. She said it was impossible to look after them well, on her own. Many other nurses and caregivers say they are constantly rushed and under pressure, and as a result its common for medicines to be mixed up, for the elderly to be neglected, dehydrated, left alone for long periods, not walked or showered regularly, or sedated with drugs.
While many elderly are being neglected, and aged care staff work around the clock for rock bottom wages, some of the corporations who run 75% of the aged care facilities in New Zealand are making huge profits. Last week Rymans posted a $61 million profit!
When the average wage for a care giver in the sector is just over $14, this is obscene. It is time for the sector to be regulated, just as the pre-school sector is. We cannot continue to allow the elderly to suffer in taxpayer funded homes.
Published in Featured | Health & Wellbeing by Sue Kedgley on Wed, May 26th, 2010
Tags: Aged care, Winnie Laban
More posts by Sue Kedgley | more about Sue Kedgley
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
So that’s one nurse looking after 63 people? patients and residents? that is disgusting that institution badly needs to be investigated.
That is a clear case of profiteering and exploitation!!!
Sue is it possible to name and shame that institution?
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…and guess who just slashed Health Care in the Budget?
Already insufficient by a mile – “it’s not a ‘cut’” says Bull
We’re just asking people to do more with less.”
Yea Right…
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CYANIDE?
The direction this government I wonder that, in this issue of health care for the aged they are not entertaining such notions of delivering cyanide pills to the elderly for being such a useless burden on society.
It certainly makes you think doesn’t it
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They won’t allow euthanasia – too mercifull.
If it was a LISTENING tour, they’d hear endless tales
Of slow and hopeless torture.
Thing is we have all the medicine gathering dust..
Once again I recommend the book
“Denial of the Soul” by M.Scott Peck (no vested interest here)
hell! – they even undermining Phil’s intellectual property…
phoooaaarrr! eh? eh?
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The question remains, is this problem due to funding alone or as I now believe, a more deep rooted issues, regarding my father I was told by a social worker, ‘if he doesn’t want to wash, or change his clothes or eat then that’s his choice, we can’t help him with that’ I was told by a community nurse ‘if he doesn’t have a physical problem we can’t become involved’ by the mental health nurse who reluctantly visited to make an assessment ‘yes he’s bad, but not that bad’
This is about a man didn’t know what day of the week it was, who thought his wife was still alive when she had died years previously, who weighed 5 and a half stone when he was finally admitted to hospital, who nearly set fire to his house on several occasions trying to warm his clothes by the fire because he was so cold, who’s clothes were stained and smelling, I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea.
This is about a man I loved and cared about, the question is however, did anybody else care?
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In the islands where I grew up the melenesians had very close knitted extended societies and the old folks are still very much a part of the village until the day they die, because the whole community accepts them warts and all.
Anglo Saxon society is very alienated and segregated when it comes to aged care. Residents of the old folks homes are often isolated from their families because their sons or daughters are often living in different towns or countries.
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This is what I call Social Genocide how dare they make these profits to pay themselves dividends so that they can have more self satisfaction in their lives these corporates should be fully exposed and shut down
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Louise,
thanks for sharing the story about the terrible treatment your father received from support workers. Did this happen in New Zealand or the United Kingdom?
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Hi, it’s the UK, I’m still not sure if its down to individuals or ‘the system’ either way I believe it fails an awful lot of people, who need this care and support the most at the venerable time of their lives. there are quite a few high profile cases in the UK media, which I think demonstrate what can happen when the service fails to deliver basic care. for every high profile case I also believe there are many others who have suffered, but not been heard.
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