NSW nursing homes fail federal government inspector audit

Mouse bites, medication errors and residents in pain — this is just some of what federal government inspectors found when they swooped on hundreds of nursing homes. See the list.

Exclusive: Rodents bit the elderly residents of a dirty and mouse-infested nursing home, a government swoop on NSW aged care homes has revealed.

Shocking cases of neglect have been exposed by federal government inspectors at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) this year.

A rodent-infested nursing home where mice bit the residents was among 18 homes hit with a sanction in NSW, where 79 aged care homes failed to meet standards for care.

An ACQSC inspection in April discovered rodents at Maranatha House in Wellington, the NSW town where a mouse plague forced the evacuation of the town’s prison.

“A serious infestation of mice has resulted in the environment not being safe … with some consumers being bitten,’’ the audit report states.

Maranatha House was banned from taking in any new residents for four months, after ACQSC identified an “immediate and severe risk’’ to residents’ health and safety.

The home’s new boss, paramedic Brendan Morris, said he had fixed the problems since taking over as chief executive.

“It is no secret that Maranatha House was affected by one of the worst mouse plagues in NSW history,’’ he said.

Maranatha House, Wellington NSW aged care facility. Picture: Ryan Young

Mr Morris said he had written to resident’s families and friends in March alerting them to the plague, and had installed “hundreds of rodent bait stations’’.

He said the home had installed mosquito nets at night to protect the most vulnerable residents from mice, applied under-door weather strips and removed food from common areas.

He said the home had hired a full-time maintenance worker and an extra cleaner to provide pest control and sanitation.

The home had also failed an audit in February this year, when inspectors warned the home was “putting consumers at risk with poor cleaning and infection control practices.’’

Assessors observed Covid-19 regulatory breaches, including some staff wearing masks under their noses.

Search our table below for the Australian aged care homes that have failed a government audit:

They reported unclean equipment, including “a sling covered in hair, strings of cotton and marked with a white spotted dried substance’’.

The dining area was not cleaned after breakfast, with inspectors noting a “sticky substance’’ on some tables and crumbs under the tables.

Mr Morris said the home now required all staff and visitors to submit to a rapid test for Covid-19 every time they enter the building.

“The adherence to infection control measures has seen zero residents, zero staff and zero visitors contract or spread Covid-19 within Maranatha House,’’ he said.

“Significant financial investment has been made recently to upgrade infection control processes and equipment.’’

SummitCare Randwick – also known as Frenchmans Lodge Nursing Home. Picture: Supplied

In Sydney, SummitCare Randwick – also known as Frenchmans Lodge Nursing Home – “dirty equipment’’, including wheelchairs, over-toilet chairs and the curtains between beds, was noted during an inspection in May.

“Unsafe’’ medication was flagged at the Uralba Retirement Village in Carcour, NSW, in July, when inspectors found “multiple incidents where consumers were administered the wrong medications’’.

Miranda Aged Care Facility owned by Jesmond Care. Picture: Supplied

The Miranda Aged Care Facility, owned by Jesmond Aged Care, was slapped with a sanction last month, banned from taking in any new residents for a month and forced to train staff, after the ACQSC declared an “immediate and severe risk’’ to residents.

During an inspection in June, assessors saw two residents wet themselves in public areas, “and another distressed incontinent consumer with a partially removed incontinence aid calling out from their room’’.

Uralba Retirement Village in Carcour, NSW. Picture: Supplied

One resident who had been calling out for help for nearly half an hour was ignored by staff – so the ACQSC inspectors went to their aid.

“The assessment team knocked and entered the room and found the consumer incontinent, distressed and anxious,’’ the audit report states.

“The bed was observed to be raised to the highest level … it had been identified that this consumer had several unwitnessed falls.’’

St Basil’s aged care in Randwick. Picture: Supplied

St Basil’s in Randwick was banned from accepting new residents for six months, after an audit in June found it breached 37 out of 42 quality standards, placing residents at “immediate and severe risk of harm’’.

Some residents were left in severe pain, the audit found, with staff failing to give one resident opiates prescribed for pain relief.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson. Britta Campion / The Australian

St Elizabeth Home in Dean Park. Picture: Supplied

St Elizabeth Home in Dean Park, in Sydney’s west, was banned from admitting new residents for six months after an audit in May found an “immediate and severe risk’’ to residents.

“Pain management for consumers nearing the end of life is not always adequate to maintain maximum comfort levels,’’ the audit report states.

A News Corp Australia investigation can reveal that 155 nursing homes failed inspections nationally this year – and 32 were slapped with sanctions or “notices to agree’’.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson said inspectors had visited 3600 aged care homes in 2020/21, and new quality standards had “lifted the bar’’ for nursing homes.