Elderly care horror stories can’t be ignored

new-zealand-labour-party

Wed Sep 26 2012 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Elderly care horror stories can’t be ignored

Wednesday, 26 September 2012, 10:13 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

26 September 2012

The Government can no longer turn a blind eye to “festering” problems in the aged care sector following more disturbing revelations of elderly rest home residents being treated poorly, Labour’s Aged Care spokesperson Kris Faafoi says.

“The findings of a report into Rangiora’s Wiltshire Lifecare and Hospital found many residents were suffering dehydration, unmanaged weight loss and lacked proper levels of basic care.

“Despite the Government’s assurances that its auditing and monitoring system is working, there’s still far too many similar cases being reported. It’s not good enough.

“Human Rights Commissioner Judy McGregor called time on this earlier in the year, highlighting on-going problems with inadequate staffing levels in our rest homes and the continued undervaluing of the sector.

“While the Canterbury District Health Board is moving to lift the standard of care at Wiltshire, the Ministry of Health needs to ensure the systemic issues that allowed this situation to fester are addressed.

“That includes introducing minimum staffing levels, more robust and regular monitoring of care facilities and better reporting of audits.

“Labour campaigned on minimum staffing levels for nurses and caregivers at all residential care facilities. We will continue to call for adequate staffing while horror stories continue to make the headlines.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

“Our elderly population is set to skyrocket over the next 14 years, hence one of the biggest challenges New Zealand faces right now is ensuring it can provide a level of care we would all expect and that older New Zealanders deserve.

“We can’t wait until tomorrow to start planning for that and we can’t wait until tomorrow to see today’s rest home residents better looked after,” Kris Faafoi said.
ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.