Tasmanian nursing home fails government inspection where residents are at ‘severe risk’

Federal government inspectors have warned residents are at a “immediate and severe risk’’ in a Tasmanian nursing home that failed an aged care safety audit.

Exclusive: A Tasmanian nursing home that flouted Covid-19 infection rules, abandoned an elderly resident alone on a toilet for an hour and failed to monitor another’s severe weight loss placed its residents at “severe risk’’, a government inspection has revealed.

The Rivulet home, owned by Southern Cross Care (Tasmania), was slapped with a “notice to agree’’ from the federal government’s Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), after a surprise audit in August deemed it posed “an immediate and severe risk to the safety, health or wellbeing’’ of residents.

The aged care home has agreed to appoint an external adviser for six months to train staff in clinical care, pain and wound management.

ACQSC inspectors found that “significant and ongoing weight loss was not reviewed’’ for one resident, and the home failed to treat a surgical wound in line with a surgeon’s directions.

Southern Cross Care’s The Rivulet home at South Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Inspectors found that one resident “was not consistently receiving pain relief prior to painful wound dressings.’’

They also reported Covid-19 breaches, including “no timely assessment and review after (a) consumer contracted a respiratory illness and was isolated’’.

“The service did not demonstrate effective prevention and control practices,’’ the report states.

“The assessment team observed staff did not consistently practice social distancing or hand hygiene protocols.

“Personal protective equipment (PPE) was not always worn or appropriately discarded.

“Staff, visitors and contractors were observed on multiple occasions entering the premises without appropriately signing in.’’

The federal government inspectors found “boxes of expired influenza and shingles vaccinations in the refrigerator’’.

The audit criticised delays in answering residents’ call bells for help, with “a consumer sometimes being left on the toilet for one hour’’.

“Not all members of the workforce are competent or have the qualifications and knowledge to effectively perform their role,’’ the report says.

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

Southern Cross Care told the ACQSC that it employed more staff than will be required under mandated ratios to be implemented in 2023.

“Management did not acknowledge ongoing staffing issues at the site visit,’’ the report states.

“The approved provider (Southern Cross Care) has acknowledged deficits in staff practice, knowledge and competence.’’

Management told the ACQSC that it had discarded the expired vaccines, and was opening a clinical training facility in October.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson has “lifted the bar’’. Britta Campion / The Australian

Rivulet is the only Tasmanian nursing home among 155 that failed ACQSC inspections across Australia this year, including 31 homes hit with sanctions or “notices to agree’’.

A Southern Cross Care spokeswoman said the ACQSC findings were a “further opportunity to make improvements to the services we deliver to our residents’’.

She said the home had appointed an adviser to “assist us to improve our care and services’’.

“We’ve also started an ongoing training program for staff, including our new Nurse Graduate Training Program and the use of external specialist and subject matter experts, to ensure all our care givers meet the requirements identified by the Commission in their report and that we are compliant with the standards,’’ she said.

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.