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Sexual harassment and other claims go "unheard" at Bupa Echuca
THE day you entrust a loved one to an aged care facility, you should be able to sleep better, knowing they now have 24-hour access to the care and attention they might need.
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A place where staff will treat your family member or friend like one of their own.
That’s the dream. For one Echuca family, it has become the nightmare.
Janine* has a medical power of attorney for her family friend Nigel* and has spent years asking, begging, fighting and pleading for better care for him.
From inadequate conditions, borderline abuse from other patients and no support for both resident and friend, she claims Nigel couldn’t be in a worse place than BUPA Aged Care in Echuca, but there is nowhere else that can take him.
Janine said in the five years Nigel had been resident there, she had seen him deteriorate beyond belief.
“He used to be so fun-loving and free, but now he’s the complete opposite,” Janine said.
“Since moving into Bupa, he has become so withdrawn and has clear mental health issues. It’s just terrible.”
After suffering from pneumonia, along with injuries from his time as a police officer, doctors at Echuca Regional Health decided it was time for Nigel to go into care.
“As his medical power of attorney, I wanted him to go to Wharparilla Lodge, but he ended up at BUPA,” she said.
And that’s when it all started to go downhill.
“Once he was in there, there were no visits from a physiotherapist, so he ended up with a stooped back,” Janine said.
“He found it hard to get around and, in the end, the only trips he would make out of his room were to a small lounge area and back.
“The list of activities available for residents was almost non-existent and even after having meetings with BUPA, nothing changed.
“He used to sing, and he wasn’t even given the opportunity to do that.”
As he sat in his room alone, his mental health began to deteriorate.
“I went to see his GP because I was really worried about him, but we couldn’t do anything without his consent,” Janine said.
“He didn’t want to take anti-depressants, but he wasn’t given any other support from BUPA either.”
About six months into his stay, he suffered a panic attack in the shower.
“Even after that, he wasn’t given any support and the cause of the panic attack wasn’t looked into,” Janine said.
“The nurses just decided he couldn’t shower or bath anymore. He hasn’t had either for more than two years.
“He gets a sponge bath now, but that’s not enough.”
Janine said the state of Nigel’s room was also a cause for concern.
“My friend and I had been up to visit him one day and his room was revolting,” she said.
“It’s almost as though they clean around him. We lifted his feet and there were patches of mould on the carpet.”
Janine said the food residents were offered was also disgusting.
“It was just inedible some days,” she said.
“There were little to no options, and the ones they did have were ridiculous.
“It got to the point where he was ordering pizza from the Moama Pizza shop and asking me to bring him food.”
Staff were seemingly unaware of the torment Nigel was also suffering from other patients – further highlighting challenges with understaffing.
“There was a man who came into care who clearly needed to be in the dementia wing, but because he was related to a staff member, he was put across the hall from Nigel,” Janine said.
“For months, Nigel was a nervous wreck. This resident would come into his room at night and urinate on him, masturbate in front of him and other vile things.
“I contacted Bupa, but no-one did anything about it, and he wasn’t moved.”
And it wasn’t just Nigel who was battling inside Bupa. Janine said she was fighting a war of her own with some staff at the facility.
“They just liked to play games with both the patients and families. It was horrible,” Janine said.
She recalled numerous times where the receptionists would “hide behind the desk and giggle” and more.
“They would see me coming and duck down, but you knew they were there,” Janine said.
“Sometimes I would call to talk to Nigel, be put on hold and never be put through, or I would ask to speak to a specialist, and they would tell me they weren’t there and slam the phone down.”
After all the times Janine has tried to help Nigel, it has seemingly fallen on deaf ears.
“I’ve had so many meetings with management and tried to make any changes I could, but nothing has changed,” she said.
“Because their regional head office is in New Zealand, no-one cares about the people in Echuca.”
Janine said it was heartbreaking to see such a dear friend in these conditions.
“I had my mother at Southern Cross and my brother in care in Rochester, I know what good care should look like and Nigel definitely isn’t getting it at Bupa,” she said.
“The staff go on and on about how these residents are at home and looked after, but they’re not, they’re inmates in a prison.
“I just hope no-one has to go through what Nigel has had to suffer ever again.”
More from the Riverine Herald's Bupa investigation
Bupa staff allege "institutionalised neglect" at Echuca facility