Daughter trespassed from mum’s rest home

A woman has been trespassed from her mother’s rest home, and says it is because she raised concerns about the level of care her mother is receiving.

The woman, who would not be named, was visited by a police officer last month to be informed she would be trespassed from Colwyn House in Hastings if she tried to visit her mother there again.

Her mother, who is 83, has dementia and has been at the rest home since October 2014. It was operated by Anglican Care Waiapu until March this year, when it was taken over by Heritage Lifecare.

The woman’s first formal complaint to management in mid-2015 resulted in Anglican Care Waiapu acknowledging its performance had not been satisfactory and committing to do better. But the woman said things only got worse.

Her mother contracted scabies three times in two years and developed an ulcerated carcinoma – a form of skin cancer – which the woman said went untreated for 10 months. She also alleged her mum had been handled roughly by staff.

The incident that rankled the woman most was when she and her father arrived to take her mother to an optician appointment to find she was still in her nightie.

Staff claimed they had called the woman to let her know her mother was objecting to going to the appointment, but the woman’s phone records showed no call had been made. ‘‘I offered to prove this with evidence from Spark but they wouldn’t discuss it,’’ she said.

Instead, management imposed restrictions on her. She would have to seek permission before visiting her mother, would be supervised on visits, and could not speak to any staff. The woman, who used to visit her mother five times a week, would not agree to the conditions and has not visited the rest home since late 2015.

She complained to the Health and Disability Commissioner, who found no evidence of rough handling, or that the rest home had failed to treat the carcinoma soon enough, but concerns were raised with the rest home and the Ministry of Health over the frequency of the scabies infections. The commissioner also told Colwyn House ‘‘there must never be any repercussions for making a complaint’’.

The woman declined to attend a meeting with management and other family members as she felt she would be bullied. The meeting resolved that there were three options: that she be issued a trespass notice if she visits; that she only visit with a staff member; or that her mother be moved to a different rest home.

In March, her father told her he had been trying for weeks to get treatment for her mother’s knees, which had been causing her great pain.

‘‘I phoned and left a message with the rest home asking them to reinstate pain relief. But nothing happened. Then my father brought her home and I saw her screaming in pain,’’ the woman said.

‘‘At that point I decided to go to the media. Regretfully, I called the rest home and left a message saying I was concerned about repercussions. A few days later I was issued the trespass notice.’’

The woman said the stress of the situation had made her physically sick. ‘‘But how do you walk away . . . when you think someone is being neglected?’’

The trespass order was ‘‘just absurd’’, she said. ‘‘Colwyn House has unjustly deprived me and my mother of time together that we can never get back.’’

Heritage Lifecare general manager Paul Renwick said the woman’s behaviour ‘‘both inside our care facility and towards staff outside of work hours in the community, continues to compromise our ability to deliver this level of care and safety’’.

The company had consulted with the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, which consulted with police ‘‘to ensure we were following the appropriate and right process before we issued the trespass order’’, he said. ‘‘We can assure you [the woman’s] mother has received and continues to receive the highest standard of care . . .

‘‘The issue of a trespass notice is not a step taken lightly in the aged-care industry but we are aware that other operators have had to take this step in the interest of resident/staff safety.’’

The health board’s strategic services manager, Paul Malan, said trespassing the woman was the appropriate action. ‘‘The district health board acknowledges it is an extreme action, however ensuring the care and safety of patients and staff at Colwyn House is both the DHB’s and the operator’s responsibility.’’

Chairman of Anglican Care Waiapu John Palairet said the health board and the Health and Disability Commissioner considered complaints from the woman and were satisfied with the care provided. ‘‘Prior to this, extensive efforts, with involvement of the DHB, were made to mediate the situation.’’

‘‘Colwyn House has unjustly deprived me and my mother of time together that we can never get back.’’