Woman lay on floor for days
An observant newspaper delivery driver, who raised concerns about the welfare of an elderly Timaru resident, who had been lying on the floor of her home for at least three days earlier this month, says she wishes she had acted sooner.
Sue Henderson, who has been delivering The Timaru Herald in the area for about five years, said she initiated a welfare check on one of the company’s subscribers after noticing her lights had been left on.
Henderson said it was unusual for her to encounter lights on in homes as she made her deliveries in the early hours of the morning, when most subscribers were asleep, so seeing the lights on over a couple of days was an indicator something was not right.
She said she also noticed a couple of newspapers had not been collected from where they had landed so raised her concerns with her boss.
‘‘I do wish I had done something sooner,’’ Henderson said.
The delivery driver said it was a long weekend, so her first thought was the resident may be away and she would continue to watch out for anything a bit out of the ordinary.
‘‘My father taught me to do what is right, not for selfish gain but for others.’’
The Timaru Herald South
Canterbury distribution executive Judy Hamer said she was grateful Henderson had been ‘‘extra vigilant’’ in her duties.
‘‘It is part of our policy for distribution to keep a check on subscribers and every driver is aware of that,’’ Hamer said.
She said if a delivery driver noticed anything unusual, such as lights left on during the day or uncollected papers over a few days, they would pass the information on to her and she would investigate.
‘‘We do it for security reasons.
‘‘If people go away and forget to cancel their paper, it can make their house a target for burglars.’’
If she deemed it necessary, Hamer said she would contact police if she held concerns for a resident – which is what she did in this case.
Hamer said after she contacted police, she learned the woman, who was aged in her 80s, had been found lying on the floor inside and was thought to have been there for at least three days.
She said it was usual for the delivery drivers, which number more than 30 across the region, to raise concerns about residents about three times a year .
Over the 18 years she has worked in the role, Hamer said the incident earlier this month was by far the worst scenario.