Every South Australian aged care home ranked on how safe residents feel

Shocking findings have emerged after aged care residents were asked how safe they feel in their facility, and many did not have glowing reviews. See how homes in South Australia ranked.

EXCLUSIVE: One of South Australia’s largest aged care providers has some of the lowest ranked facilities in the state for safety, according to their own residents.

In a survey, Estia Health’s Hope Valley, Encounter Bay and Daw Park centres, were ranked fourth, sixth and seventh lowest respectively.

Results show Nalya Lodge Hostel was the lowest ranked home, according to the results, with half of those surveyed claiming they only felt safe some of the time.

At Bolton Clarke Little Para 14 per cent said they never felt safe.

The Government data was collated last year from up to 20 per cent of residents from each home. More than 220 SA homes were surveyed. The results go towards their overall Star Ratings.

SA had 32 homes where at least one resident never felt safe and 10 homes where 100 per cent said they always felt safe. Resthaven had four highly ranked facilities.

Anna Willis, CEO of Aged Care Justice, which helps people seeking legal redress due to financial, emotional or physical damage suffered in residential aged care or home care, said there had been an uptick in complaints this year, with 45 inquiries already, compared to 110 last year.

“We have had serious complaints from all over Australia,” Ms Willis said.

Aged Care Justice CEO Anna Willis. Picture: Supplied

Two complainants, in facilities not on the lowest ranked list, revealed how their mothers felt unsafe.

One said she was shocked to find her mother, who is in her 90s, had been prescribed strong antipsychotic drugs by a visiting GP, which she did not need, and put in a memory loss unit where people were screaming and shouting all day, and walking in and out of her room.

One aged care resident suffered injuries after falling getting on a bus without help. Picture: Supplied

“While on those drugs she could hardly put one leg in front of the other and she was having falls in the nursing home,” the daughter, who did not want to be identified, said.

Another relative said staff failed to ensure her mother was able to get on a bus safely, and she fell, leaving her with cuts and bruises.

“They pulled her by the hands to pull her up,” she said. “They could have pulled her arms out of her sockets. Where’s the training or common sense? She’s fragile.”

One aged care resident suffered injuries after falling getting on a bus without help. Picture: Supplied

The Aged Care Act, due to come into force in July, will give the regulator more powers to take action against aged care facilities.

A spokesperson for Nayla Lodge Hostel said the survey only captured residents’ experiences within a small time frame and said in the most recent Star Ratings the residents agreed the facility was run well and “staff are kind and caring all or most of the time”.

A spokesman for Estia Health said it was one of the largest providers of residential aged care with 19 homes in SA and had an “unwavering commitment to providing high quality and safe care for our residents”. It said the survey sample size was small but its overall resident experience ratings continue to improve.

Bolton Clark’s Glenn Hancock, said 14 residents were surveyed and the home achieved 4 stars for clinical quality as well as high ratings for many areas of customer experience including care and respect for residents.

Originally published as Every South Australian aged care home ranked on how safe residents feel