Oakden whistleblower demands action
THE woman who blew the whistle on widespread abuse of dementia patients at Adelaide’s infamous Oakden nursing home has urged the royal commission into aged care to use the evidence it hears to fix the broken system.
Barbara Springs, whose husband Bob died in 2016 after being mistreated and overmedicated at Oakden, appeared as the first witness before the inquiry yesterday, becoming emotional as she recounted the appalling treatment he received.
She questioned why her concerns were downplayed or ignored for so long and told reporters after her testimony that it was still painful to re- count her family’s story.
But she said the commission would have plenty of material to work with to reform and improve the sector and she hoped she had “set the scene” for others to tell their stories to the inquiry.
“I hope that they can use all the evidence that they get to make the changes that need to be made,” she said.
The shocking treatment of dementia patients at Oakden in part sparked the royal commission.
In her evidence, Mrs Spriggs said she still did not know exactly what happened to her husband.
“I should not have had to battle long and hard for months to be heard,” she said.
Mrs Spriggs criticised the lack of accountability in the aged-care sector, questioning if her husband’s abusers were still working at other facilities. She called for an accessible way for people to get information, particularly when they had serious concerns.
“There needs to be a very clear pathway that an every- day person can follow if they or someone they are caring for experiences a problem,” she said. “There has to be a much easier, uncomplicated road to travel.”
Mrs Spriggs said CCTV cameras should be installed in all common areas at aged care centres and be an option for use in private areas.
In his evidence, her son Clive called for a national database of aged-care workers to prevent those guilty of abuse or substandard care from simply moving between facilities or between states.
“They do it for doctors and other health care professions, so I see no reason why it can’t be done for aged care,” he said.