Daughter of 92-year-old dementia patient makes shocking claims of neglect at Glen Osmond aged-care home Glenrose Court

A woman says she found her 92-year-old mother – who has dementia – unshowered in bed and wearing a filthy sanitary pad at an Adelaide aged-care home.

A 92-year-old woman with dementia suffered “disgraceful treatment” at an aged-care home the federal regulator had deemed non-compliant, her daughter says.

Cecelie Fowler lived at the Glenrose Court home at Glen Osmond from June 2020 to April this year.

She has since been relocated to a different home after daughter Cathy Fowler said she was neglected.

Ms Fowler said she reached breaking point on April 23 when visiting her mother at 1pm to find she was still in bed, not showered and with a dirty sanitary pad.

“She stank, her hair was filthy, and I went into the bathroom to start showering her and there was poo all over the floor,” Ms Fowler told The Advertiser.

Cecelie Fowler, who has dementia. Picture: supplied by the family.

The Norwood woman said her mother suffered multiple urinary tract infections due to unchanged sanitary pads and on one occasion received the wrong dose of medication.

She believed the issues with her mother’s care were due to staff shortages.

In a letter sent in early August to the home’s owner, Lifecare, Ms Fowler said she was extremely disappointed with the care her mother had received at the home.

The company responded immediately, saying it had launched an “urgent investigation”. It has since concluded and found there was no basis to the claims.

Ms Fowler also sent a letter to state Health Minister Stephen Wade, on August 11, outlining the “disgraceful treatment” of her mother.

Cecelie Fowler, who has dementia. Picture: supplied by the family.

Mr Wade wrote back on September 6, hours after The Advertiser made inquiries to his office, saying he had alerted federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck of Ms Fowler’s concerns.

The federal Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission conducted an audit of Glenrose Court in May.

That audit found the home non-compliant in two categories, including personal and clinical care.

In a performance report publicly released in August, auditors discussed interviews with family and friends of residents who said they regularly came across residents ungroomed and wearing dirty clothes.

“The service was unable to demonstrate that the workforce has sufficient numbers and skill mix of staff to provide safe and quality care of services,” the report says.

Lifecare chief executive officer Allen Candy said the company “refute any suggestion of inadequate care during Cecelie’s 11-month stay at Glenrose Court”.

Mr Candy said Cecelie became aggressive due to her dementia and occasionally refused to shower or leave her bed.

Mr Candy said an extensive review was undertaken following the regulator’s audit in May.

“We are confident that all matters have been addressed and the noncompliance will be removed by assessors when they return in the coming months,” he said.