Coronavirus: Police probe aged-care neglect claims at Newmarch House

Senior NSW detectives are being asked to investigate allegations of neglect by staff at Newmarch House in western Sydney.

‘Mum had her third fall in three weeks on Saturday. She was unable to get up and pressed her room button multiple times … but she was just ignored’: Anthony Bowe, the son of a 76-year-old Newmarch patient who has tested positive for coronavirus. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

Senior NSW detectives are being asked to investigate allegations of neglect by staff at Newmarch House in western Sydney after it emerged an elderly woman who was recovering from coronavirus was forced to lie on the floor for two hours after falling from bed early on Saturday morning.

The allegation comes after the aged-care regulator last week threatened to revoke operator ­Anglicare’s licence if it didn’t see a “significant improvement” in the centre’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak that has left 16 residents dead.

Anthony Bowe, whose 76-year-old mother, Patrica Shea, tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago, said he had written to Detective Sergeant Steven Peroni from Nepean Police to request an “urgent investigation” into the ­embattled aged-care centre.

“Mum had her third fall in three weeks on Saturday,” Mr Bowe told The Australian. “She was unable to get up and pressed her room button multiple times … but she was just ignored.”

Mr Bowe said Ms Shea collapsed onto her bedroom floor about 5am on Saturday but was unable to pull herself up because her drawn-out battle with COVID-19 had left her frail and “jelly-legged”.

“She could have had a heart ­attack or a head injury and died on the floor,” Mr Bowe said. “It’s a massive breach of trust and they didn’t bother to tell me what had happened until six hours after they had found her.”

The Australian understands Sergeant Peroni has been liaising with a number of family members who are concerned about the treatment of their elderly relatives inside the virus-riddled Newmarch House.

NSW Police Minister David ­Elliott last week ruled out a criminal probe into Newmarch House despite labelling the cluster a “natural disaster”.

“Police will assist (families) any way they can but there’s no suggestion there should be any kind of criminal investigation,” he said.

Mr Bowe\’s complaint comes after Newmarch House appointed independent adviser Andrew Kinkade, the general manager for Catholic Healthcare, following a threat from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission that the facility could lose its licence.

The commission’s notice, sent to Anglicare last Thursday, cited a range of concerns about the nursing home’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.