SA Health is investigating Cleve aged-care home after resident Jeffery Beaton went missing for eight days and died

An internal investigation has started after an elderly resident went missing for eight days from an SA Health aged-care home and died a day after he was found.

SA Health has launched an internal investigation into a Cleve nursing home after one of its residents was found dead eight days after he went missing.

Jeffery Beaton’s record of vanishing from the Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care home was revealed in parliament on Thursday, resulting in calls for increased security at aged-care facilities.

Health Minister Stephen Wade said the 83-year-old had left the SA Health-operated home three times within two months.

“I have also been advised that as well as the two departures from the facility on October 1 and 2, there was also one previous occasion in August where Mr Beaton left the facility and was found quickly afterwards,” Mr Wade said.

Mr Beaton was reported missing to local police on October 2 and found severely dehydrated on October 10, several kilometres east of Cleve. He was taken to hospital but died the following evening.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens described the death of Jeffery Beaton, 83, as tragic.

“It’s very tragic that he’s passed away and there will be an ongoing inquiry in relation to the circumstances that led to this person’s death,” Mr Stevens said on Tuesday.

Jeffery Beaton, 83, was found alive eight days after he disappeared from an Eyre Peninsula aged care facility. Picture: SA Police

“We’ll have to prepare a report for the coroner so that will be the process.”

SA Best’s Frank Pangallo questioned Mr Wade about Mr Beaton’s history of absconding.

“Mr Beaton’s death begs so many questions,” he said.

“How many staff were on duty when Mr Beaton absconded? Why wasn’t he accommodated in a more secure area after his first escape? How was he able to escape so many times?”

Mr Pangallo urged the government to consider enhancing security at aged-care homes.

“Mr Beaton’s tragic death may have been able to be avoided had a CCTV camera been in use in his bedroom or common areas of the facility,” he said.

Mr Wade said “CCTV could have been of assistance”.

“The government is looking forward to both the internal reviews and any reviews that might be undertaken by the Coroner and the commission,” he said.

The death was reported to the Aged Care Quality Safety Commission under its serious-incident response reporting obligations.

A spokesman from the commission said they had reports of an “unexplained absence of a resident”.

“The Commission is investigating the circumstances surrounding the reported incident,” the spokesman said.

“Should the Commission determine that the approved provider has not complied with its legal obligations under the Aged Care Act and other relevant legislation, the Commission has the powers to take further regulatory or other enforcement action.”

The Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care Home was audited under the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards in July and was accredited.

“Over the past 12 months, we have increased our clinical workforce and strengthened the way we deliver health care services,” a statement from SA Health said.

Local efforts

A local searcher said Mr Beaton “wasn’t in a good way” when he was found after an extensive search by SES volunteers and SA Police from Cleve, Whyalla and Adelaide.

SES volunteer Justin Brumfield joined the search on Saturday night in what he described as “windy and wet weather”.

“I got a page saying ‘missing man from Crestview Hostel’,” Mr Brumfield said.

“I searched from 11.30pm through to 3am and they said we’ll search again at first light.”

The disappearance of the Crestview Hostel resident shocked the tight-knit community and raised concerns surrounding the security of the facility which backs on to residential properties and vacant land.

Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care. Picture: Micaela Stark

A local man, who asked not to be named, said the only thing stopping the aged care residents from leaving were doors operated by a code.

“Residents are free to come and go as they please,” he said.

“The facilities are unsecured and not designed to manage dementia patients.

“The next closest facilities are in Elliston – 200km away which residents, as you can imagine, are upset by.”

Neighbours of the Fourth St facility, who did not wish to be named, were not home during most of the search effort but said it was not unusual to find residents on their property.

“We see one guy wandering around the property regularly, but he’s being doing that for years and years,” they said.

The rear of the property neighbours vacant land and empty paddocks. Picture: Micaela Stark

“We had people ring us to see if they could check our house and yard because they knew it was vacant.”

Flinders MP Peter Treloar said the hospital was unable to care for some local patients.

“A lot of our smaller country hospitals have some permanent residents and they are generally in a secure part of the building,” Mr Treloar said.

“I know some of the more severe dementia patients aren’t able to be accommodated at Cleve. They go to Elliston, but that’s not a criticism of the hospital, it’s just the reality for a lot of these small country hospitals.”

SA Health, which operates the aged care facility, refused to comment on what precautions had been made to ensure patients’ safety and security at the facility, directing all inquiries to police.

An SA Police spokesperson said there was “no further investigation from the police into the security of the hospital.”

Earlier, the police confirmed Mr Beaton was being treated for dehydration and sunburn at an Adelaide hospital on Monday, describing his condition as “alive and as well as he can be under the circumstances”.