Japara Noosa apologises for aged care treatment of elderly resident

A Noosa aged care facility has apologised after a woman claimed her father suffered devastating mistreatment in his final days.

A Noosa nursing home at the centre of a shocking abuse scandal has apologised to a grieving daughter who claims her father was neglected before his death.

Michael Callil died in Noosa Hospital last June, aged 97, after a two-week respite at Japara Noosa, the Tewantin nursing home where government inspectors found distressing evidence of abuse and neglectin October.

His daughter Christine Callil yesterday said the nursing home was short-staffed on weekends, with some residents forced to wait 45 minutes for help to go to the toilet.

She said her father was dehydrated due to failure to give him water, and the stump of his arm became infected.

“One morning I walked in and his arm had started bleeding because the dressing had been left on for a few days,” he said.

Michael Callil died in Noosa Hospital after a two-week respite at Japara Noosa. Picture: supplied

“When I called in a nurse to dress his arm – there was blood on his pillow – she brought in new dressings.

“Those dressings sat on a bedside table for a couple of days before they did the job.”

Ms Callil said “hydration was a major problem.

“His little face was so withdrawn, he just needed fluids,” she said.

“In between breakfast and the time I would go in (at 10.45am), I don’t believe anyone went in to check he had sufficient fluids.”

Ms Callil said Japara had given her a special exemption to let her sit with her father every day to help with his meals and keep him company.

She said a senior manager had apologised to her after his death and assured her that changes had been made in 51 nursing homes as a result of her father’s experience.

But Ms Callil said she was shocked to read in The Courier-Mail last Saturday that the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) had uncovered problems at the nursing home four months after the apology for her father’s treatment.

Christine Callil's father Michael was resident at Japara Aged Care home and says staff failed to change her father's bandages or to give him anything to drink for hours on end. Picture: Lachie Millard

ACQSC inspectors discovered “multiple assaults between consumers, causing injury and death” and declared residents to be at “immediate and severe risk.”

Queensland’s Coroner is investigating a death at the home, after the ACQSC audit revealed a resident died after a morphine overdose.

Ms Callil said she “felt sorry for all the other residents in there.”

“It made me fearful for those people who don’t have someone to speak up for them,” she said.

“I know everyone has to make money, but for God’s sake they’re people, and old people deserve respect – it’s got to be fixed.” 

A Japara spokeswoman said the company could not comment on individual situations for privacy reasons but had “apologised to residents and their families for shortcomings.

“Care of our residents is our number one priority,” she said.

“We are currently finalizing the scope for significant refurbishment work at the home and we have new procedures and protocols in place.”

The spokeswoman said Mr Callil was at “absolute end of life” when admitted for palliative care.

Japara lost $292 million last year despite received $307 million in taxpayer funding.