Westminster Lodge Mackay residents raise the alarm
More shock allegations about living conditions at a North Queensland retirement village have emerged but the manager claims she is the real victim.
Mackay
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New and shocking details about allegedly substandard living conditions at a Mackay retirement village have come to light with multiple residents speaking out.
In just the past two days, residents of Westminster Lodge Mackay, some of whom did not wish to be named, offered up stories of broken airconditioning, no food service, damaged rooms and an atmosphere of fear of speaking out.
One woman said her air conditioner was broken for months and she passed out on one occasion from the heat.
“It was dreadful because I get the all-day sun and it was like an oven,” she said.
“I passed out on the bathroom.”
Elvira Bates has lived at Westminster since September 2021 and confirmed the story.
“When we had a party over at the dining room, I knocked on her door to see if she was coming over, she was actually passed out on the floor.
“I did not know because I thought she was gone because her door was locked, but I found out later she had passed out on the floor from the heat.”
The woman said she wanted to stay on the bathroom tiles because they were cooler than the rest of the unit.
“It was too hot out on the carpet,” she said.
She said she asked the village’s manager, Helen Lu, to get the airconditioner fixed, but nothing was done until she got into contact with the owner of her unit.
An 86-year-old resident, who did not wish to be named, said the food service had been pulled.
“It started off with cutting down the food,” she said.
“Taking away milk, bread, fruit.
“We were not allowed in the kitchen.
“We had to get our own food.”
The units hold microwaves, fridges and kettles, but open flames are not permitted for safety reasons.
Another resident said much of the place was decrepit.
She said she had to put sealant into her bathroom to stop water from the shower flooding out.
She also claimed the outside lights were often broken, though they had been replaced in the past three weeks.
Another resident said the lights were still dim.
“They don’t radiate very far,” she said.
The residents also said they lived in fear of speaking out since they had “kicked up a fuss”.
One of the residents said they were not permitted to have a Christmas dinner.
Mirani MP Stephen Andrew said the body corporate would consider pursuing legal action against the manager.
The residents said the owners of the units had not travelled to Mackay to inspect the properties.
“They should come up and do an inspection,” Mr Andrew said.
The manager disputes the claims and says some of the residents have bullied her because she is “easygoing”.
She said food service at the village was a separate business under a separate contract.
She argued too few residents chose to eat at the kitchen to keep the business afloat.
“They don’t want to up payment for the food, so who will pay?” she said.
She said she could not cover expenses with rising prices.
“It (what the residents pay) does not cover the cost,” she said.
On the issue of air conditioners, she said she called the landlords of the units whenever one went bust and had them fixed.
She said fixing one of the air conditioners in the common room was more difficult because it took time for the air conditioner company to find the right parts.
She rejected the claim the outside lighting was inadequate and said only a couple of bulbs had gone bust.
“It is not dark,” she said.
“They work every single one now.”
She said she had not tried to close down Christmas parties but had only prohibited cooking in the kitchen.
“They think there is no law, no regulation,” she said.
“They can do anything they want.
“I have enough. I need to fight back.”
She said if a maintenance issue was raised with her, including water leaks, she would address it.
She also rejected the claim she had created an atmosphere of fear in the village.
“That is bulls–t,” she said.
“They bully me,” she said, referring to a few of the residents.
Some of the problems appear to predate her tenure as manager.
She took over the village in April.
Resident Sid Helsham said his air conditioner had not worked for years, well before the new manager’s time.
She said she had not spoken to body corporate and was not aware of incoming legal action against her.
But she said she would secure legal representation if necessary.
“I will find my lawyer to fight back,” she said.
Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said “all levels of government” were aware of the situation and were supporting the body corporate and management to find an acceptable solution for all parties.
“As a community the welfare of our seniors should be everybody’s priority and as a community, we must ensure that the rules that oversee their retiring years are fair and equitable.”
Dawson MP Andrew Willcox said his office had been in “regular contact” with the health and aged care minister’s office to get support for the residents and ensure they had access to the full range of federal government services available to them.
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