Rest home under investigation
A slew of complaints about the care a man received in a rest home before his death will most likely be left unanswered as the rest home refused to comply with an investigation.
The man, in his 70s, died after a fall in which he broke his hip in Armourdene Rest Home, owned by Wilding International Ltd, in Hamilton.
His sister-in-law complained to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) about the care he received leading up to and at the time of the fall in September 2018.
But an HDC report released yesterday said, despite multiple requests, the rest home did not provide information needed to determine if appropriate care had been given. It also did not provide any reasonable explanation for not doing so.
Because of this, the report instead focused on the rest home’s limited participation and lack of co-operation, which found it had breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights by undermining the investigation.
The report showed the man who died had a complex medical history, including brain injury, stroke and prostate cancer.
About 7am he had an unwitnessed fall in his room and a caregiver called the oncall registered nurse who monitored him.
About 11am, another caregiver called the on-call registered nurse and the man was taken to hospital.
He was diagnosed with a fractured hip and died a few days later.
When the man’s sister-in-law contacted HDC she said he was not offered assistance to use the toilet and as a result he sometimes soiled himself.
He had a permanent urinary catheter that was not emptied regularly and often overflowed, leaving him in urine-drenched clothes. She said that on one occasion when the catheter overflowed, he was left alone in the lounge partially dressed with no nurse to assist him.
When the man was taken to hospital after the fall he was found to have a hip fracture, UTI and a pressure sore on his sacrum.
He was described in a referral as ‘‘very unkempt and malodorous’’, and died on day four of his stay in hospital.
Armourdene was provided with a copy of the complaint and provided multiple responses disputing aspects of the complaint.
However, despite multiple requests, it would not provide HDC with any requested clinical notes, policies and procedures or statements from staff.
Wilding International Ltd has been referred to the Director of Proceedings to decide whether any proceedings should be taken.
On May 27, 2020, the last resident was transferred out of Armourdene and the facility was closed.
The report showed the man who died had a complex medical history, including brain injury, stroke and prostate cancer.