Care home staff ‘scared to complain’

several homes, and there was an ‘‘atmosphere of fear’’ among staff which stopped them raising concerns.

He said he had made a statement after an incident that left staff and residents shaken, and was told he was the subject of an investigation and would no longer be working in that home. His manager alleged he had been disruptive and was bullying others. The investigation found he had done nothing wrong.

In another case, he said, staff were not given sufficient information about the background of a violent resident who went on to seriously assault a staff member.

‘‘People are scared to complain because they are scared of losing their jobs.’’

Another support worker who left the organisation after she experienced bullying said she was concerned about how the issues in the service were affecting residents.

Isobel (not her real name) worked for DSS for several years in a number of the homes across Nelson. She was the subject of a bullying complaint by a colleague after a dispute over a roster.

She said she went on stress leave while awaiting the results of the investigation, which concluded that the claims against her were unfounded.

Isobel said it was not uncommon for other staff to work several shifts back to back. Staff are not supposed to work more than 96 hours in a fortnight unless it is an emergency situation.

Kinsey said staff were required to seek permission from management before accepting shifts above 80 hours per fortnight. She said there had recently been a high level of unplanned leave within the service, which resulted in staff working additional hours.