Failing aged care home Seaforth Bupa to lose accreditation
A beleaguered aged care home on the northern beaches is set to lose its accreditation after inspectors found it had placed the safety, health and wellbeing of patients at serious risk.
Manly
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Government sanctions against a failing aged care home have been extended for a third time, as authorities say they will also be revoking its accreditation.
The Department of Health said the home will lose accreditation on October 18, which will mean it will no longer be eligible to receive Government subsidies.
Bupa Seaforth was sanctioned following an audit in September last year, which found it was compliant in just 10 out of 44 areas.
The visit by the team of inspectors from the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency came after secret CCTV was made public of a dementia patient David Nabulsi being beaten by a carer.
Mr Nabulsi died several months ago, not in relation to the abuse.
In a follow up audit published on January 25, the home met 30 of the 44 expected criteria.
However, on May 2, inspectors found standards had dropped once again and was only compliant in 18 areas and the “failure to meet six of these expected outcomes has placed the safety, health and wellbeing of consumers of the service at serious risk”.
A source told the Manly Daily the home had just seen its third lot of administrators come in and its sixth general manager since opening in October 2016.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult to turn it around,” they said.
“Patients are not getting the care they need.
“It’s been allowed to go on for so long.”
In a letter to residents and relatives dated August 9, manager Bradley Brown said the Department of Health had extended the period to continue working on improvements until January 2020.
“I want to assure you that Bupa and our local team remains committed to using this time to address areas where we have not met the required standards,” he wrote.
In the last audit in May the home inspectors found:
• Staff do not have appropriate knowledge and skills to perform their roles effectively
• Medication is not managed safely and correctly
• All patients are not as free as possible from pain
• Continence is not managed effectively
• Personal hygiene needs are not being met, nor are rooms being kept clean and tidy
• Patients are being dressed in other patient’s clothes
• Restraint is used in the management of challenging behaviours without considering and ruling out other causes of the behaviour
• Reportable assaults are occurring, including allegations of rough handling of patients and patient to patient physical assault
• Management has not demonstrated that there is a system in place to ensure future fire safety issues will be addressed in a timely manner
A Department of Health spokesman said despite the revocation of the accreditation Bupa Seaforth remains an approved provider under the Aged Care Act 1997 and will continue to receive Commonwealth subsidy for all other accredited Bupa services.
“Bupa may choose to run the Seaforth service unaccredited as it is a business decision for an approved provider as to how they continue to fund a service once accreditation has been revoked,” the spokesman said.
“After revocation occurs, the Department continues to closely monitor an approved provider’s delivery of care to ensure the safety and welfare of the care recipients. This involves welfare checks by departmental staff at the service to ensure continuity of care and services.”
A Bupa spokesman said the home was making progress in many areas.
“The independent administrator and adviser we have appointed have more than 20 years of collective aged care experience,” the spokesman said.
“We have made a number of changes at our Seaforth home, and are keeping residents and their families informed as we progress. We have a new leadership team in place and our dedicated staff are focused on delivering quality care to all of our residents.
“Our General Manager has more than five years experience in aged care and is a registered nurse with a speciality in aged care leadership.
“Bupa remains committed to addressing any areas that have not met the required standards. We’ve gathered a lot of feedback from residents and relatives which will be incorporated into care plans and reviews moving forward”.
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