Hunter aged care fails: 'homes not up to standard'

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has found five homes in the region did not meet standards during the six months to November 30.

The commission also reports that last year, five people living in the Hunter Central Coast region were permanently banned from work in aged care.

The latest performance quality report reveals that Anglican Care Mirrabooka in Gloucester, Waterview Aged Care Facility in Teralba, the Masonic nursing home in Largs, and Bupa Waratah have been found non-compliant.

The most serious issues were found at Anglican Care Mirrabooka Place.

Failures there included high-impact and high-prevalence risks not being managed properly, and having a negative impact on residents.

A site audit report said while the provider had evidence to show observations and referrals occurred on occasion, there was further to go.

Food complaints also made up a significant proportion of complaints at Mirrabooka, where management said it was "scoping options" to re-establish on-site kitchens, rather than relying on a centralised "cook-chill food production method" that involved onsite cooks to do final food preparation only.

The service was issued with a notice to remedy, requiring it to fix any outstanding issues to avoid a sanction.

At Bupa Waratah, residents, their representatives and some staff told a commission assessment team the service was short staffed.

That included cleaning staff, resulting in a lack of cleanliness, including sticky floors and uncleaned toilets, as well as safety issues and access.

Trolleys were left blocking corridors, a gate to the car park was left open, and outdoor furniture was broken.

Complaints and feedback were also not being recorded properly, and not actioned as a result

Several staff said the service needed more personnel to help high-acuity care needs, citing residents who needed two-to-three-person lift being forced to wait for help, and clinical and staff care shifts remaining unallocated.

In response, the service's plans for improvement included recruiting for two more cleaning staff, two more lifestyle staff, a maintenance officer, two kitchen staff and several registered nurses.

Waterview Aged Care at Teralba was found to be failing to deliver standard-level care in areas including skin integrity, pain management and restrictive practices since August 2022.

While plans had been put in place, including staff education, they had been ineffective, the commission found.

Residents' wounds were not being attended as often as required, their pain was not being properly addressed during wound care, and staff were not consistently addressing potential wound infections, a site audit revealed.

While Hunter Valley Care Pty Ltd, which owns and runs the home, had made some changes, some of the actions it had outlined were still to be implemented.

At the Whiddon Group home run by the Frank Whiddon Masonic Homes of NSW in Largs, issues included medication management, lack of hygiene care, and a lack of timely communication.

The failures are listed on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's most recent non-compliance register for July 1 to November 30, 2023.

Since 2022, the aged care watchdog also keeps a banning report listing individuals who have been prohibited from working in the aged care sector for a period of time, or permanently.

The most recent report includes the names of five people permanently banned from aged care last year, including Christopher Palmares Sy of Cessnock, and Daniel Sasulu Nuumaalii of Umina Beach, both banned in March; Lauren Fleming of Hamlyn Terrace banned in July; and Mary Joyce Cook of Watanobbi and Malissa Victoria McMaster, of Berkeley Vale, both permanently banned in December.

The commission has not provided context or explanation of any of the bans in place.