‘Callous and business-like’: Royal Commission told of lack of compassion shown to family after resident’s death

A former Play School host has given evidence about how her parents were treated at Bupa’s South Hobart aged care facility.

THE daughter of two residents of Bupa’s South Hobart facility says management was callous, lacking in compassion and did not listen to the family’s concerns about the impacts of staff shortages.

Merridy Eastman told the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that on many occasions, her mother Berenice had to significantly care for her husband Walter in the room they shared at the home, despite being frail herself.

Merridy Eastman said her mother had to assist with tasks such as Mr Eastman’s toileting and washing because the work was not being done by staff.

The commission was told that when Mr Eastman died in January last year aged 89, management wanted to quickly move Berenice Eastman out of the double room into a single room.

Mr Eastman is a Tasmanian arts community legend, who was a theatre critic for the Mercury and also worked for the ABC.

Walter Eastman and wife Berenice when he received his OAM in 2010.

Merridy Eastman — a best-selling author and actress who starred in Packed to the Rafters and once hosted Play School — said she was disappointed by emails from then general manager of the centre, David Neal.

“[The emails] never referred to our mother and her situation,” she said.

“They referred to 119 beds, revenue, income, loss. It was like we were on the same board as him and not a family of a resident.

“So we found his emails were very callous and business-like and our situation couldn’t have been more personal and distressing, requiring compassion.

“By now we were a real thorn in the side for management and the emails were letting us know that we were not their favourite family.

“We were writing a series of emails almost begging him to be kinder and compassionate to mum and not make her move three weeks or even four weeks after she lost dad.”

Merridy Eastman said the room was like a home to her mother and that the thought of having to relocate her was upsetting.

She told the commission she felt the process was unnecessarily rushed.

Merridy Eastman told the commission her parents moved into Bupa South Hobart in January 2016 after time spent in neighbouring retirement village Vaucluse Gardens.

She was initially impressed with the facility — saying the gardens were immaculate, the staff friendly and the room clean, comfortable and inviting.

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Merridy Eastman. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

But Merridy Eastman said her mother was forced to significantly care for Mr Eastman, whose health was gradually deteriorating.

She said her mother, who is still a resident at the facility, knew it was a staff-to-resident ratio problem.

“If no one came when she pressed the emergency button, she would go out on the floor and look for staff and she would not be able to see any staff,” she said.

“They weren’t, you know, downstairs having a coffee. They were all working but there wasn’t enough of them.

“If there was an emergency with dad, she would wait 20 minutes, 40 minutes, and once no one came at all.”

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She said concerns they raised with management about the number of staff were not taken seriously.

“We were always told we were wrong about the staff-to-resident ratio, that there was adequate staff even though there clearly wasn’t,” she said.

The commission was told that on many occasions, Berenice Eastman even had to help a blind resident at the facility get back to her room, after the woman was left in a common room and was calling out for help.

Merridy Eastman told the commission she believed her parents’ care had suffered because they shared a room and were seen as a “unit”, compared to residents who were in a room on their own.

The hearing continues.