WOMAN SOCIETY FORGOT

89-year-old may have been dead in unit for more than a week

THE Coroners Court is investigating the death of an 89-year-old woman whose body may have remained in her Grovedale retirement village for more than a week before being discovered.

Police were called to Abervale Retirement Village following the discovery of the body about 1pm on August 23.

A spokeswoman for the Coroners Court confirmed the death was referred to the court and was now under “active investigation” to discover the cause and timeline of events.

The death is not being treated as suspicious.

The resident’s neighbour, Denise Hutchinson, said on the day the woman’s body was discovered she spoke to a care worker — arranged by the woman through an external provider — who had come to take her shopping.

“She told me she was (the woman’s) care worker ... but she was not answering the door,” Ms Hutchinson said.

“She told me she had attended two weeks ago and (the resident) did not answer the door on this occasion also.”

Another neighbour is said to have sighted the woman in her garden about 10 days before her body was found.

Ms Hutchinson said she reported the situation to staff who made the tragic discovery.

“It’s a terrible shame to go like that,” she said.

The neighbour said she believed the woman was in “dire need of updated aged care assessment” and thinks the retirement village should be regularly checking in on residents.

The Church St facility, owned by Lendlease, is a mix of independent living units and serviced apartments.

The resident lived independently and had emergency call buttons and a personal alarm she wore around her neck, but are understood not to have been activated.

Lendlease managing director of retirement living Tony Randello said village management was “saddened” by the passing of the resident.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the resident’s family,” he said.

“While Abervale is a close knit community, many of our 250 residents choose to live very independent lives.

“We provide all residents the option to access welfare services through an independent provider and all units are fitted with an emergency call button system for immediate response.”

The village arts group is planning a memorial service for the much-liked member.