A 70 year old grandmother has allegedly been assaulted by a male nurse at her aged care facility.
Lynette Lee was left with a black, swollen eye and bruised left hand after a male nurse hit her a cup of hot Milo.
The facility, located in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide, contacted the police regarding the incident and officers arrived at the facility the very next day.
Lynette’s daughter, Belinda, was informed of the incident 12 hours afterwards when a supervisor called her.
“I thought she had died because the supervisor was really uncomfortable to tell me something and he asked if I was coming in,” she said.
“He still took ages to spit it out, then he said that one of the nurses had assaulted my mother. That’s exactly what he said but now they’re backtracking,” she alleged.
“[My mother] said the first hit was the worst, she put her hand up and the second hit must have hit her hand because she’s got bruising at the top of her fingers.”
The nurse alleges that Lynette hit herself in the face with the table when she went went to reach for her beverage.
The male nurse was allegedly cleared in an internal investigation and was allowed to return to work, however was suspended for the duration of the police investigation.
In a statement to media, the facility “confirms that investigations are underway at [the facility] in South Australia following an allegation of physical assault against a resident”.
“They contacted local police as soon as it became aware of the matter and is co-operating fully with police.”
“The staff member has been suspended, and will not return to work until the investigations are completed.”
Belinda has lodged a complaint with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
This recent assault is not the first of it’s kind in an aged care setting. And in recent times, there are more and more media reports of such incidents happening.
But what measures can be taken to ensure more incidents like this do not happen in the future?
One frequent suggestion has been the installation of security cameras in private rooms – however, it’s been suggested that this may invade the privacy of residents and staff.
Last year, a hidden camera in an Adelaide nursing home has captured footage of a staff member appearing to attempt to suffocate an 89-year-old man.
The camera was installed by the man’s daughter who suspected that her father’s bruises were a result of elder abuse from the aged care staff.
Her footage definitively showed that the staff were indeed causing harm to her father, however, the facility, in a surprising move, forbid the daughter from any further recordings.
In an attempt to ensure her father’s safety, the concerned daughter had breached the Privacy Act, the Aged Care Act and Video Surveillance Act.
However, without that footage, there would not have been enough evidence to criminally charge the assailant.
Not only would security cameras catch assailants in the act, but they would also act as a preventative measure against abuse – suggesting that staff may think twice about their behaviour if they knew they were being watched at all times.
What do you have to say? Comment, share and like below.
I work in aged care as a carer and I myself am all for having cameras in residents rooms and all communal areas. I believe a lot of care staff we have these days simply shouldn’t be there.
this is a good idea as the aged care system needs to be transparent and accountable on numerous levels
I agree with cameras – we are hearing too many of these stories and my mother is currently in an aged care facility where I have been told to watch out for one of the carers – I have made a comment about this to the facility but she still works on an unsupervised night shift
I left a well paid, enjoyable profession because my mother developed Alzheimer’s and, rather than have her enter a nursing home, I decided to muddle through and care for her myself. The reason she is not in care is because of persistent stories like this one. If there were cameras in every room and they were monitored by someone independent of the nursing home, I wouldn’t be so sceptical about nursing home care. So far my honest opinion is that I wouldn’t send someone I care about to one. They are businesses making money out of the vulnerable . They can go one of two ways-they can show care for the vulnerable and treat them like the sentient beings that they are, or they can treat them badly and successfully cover it up and make a lot of money. Unfortunately, our system allows for both types to flourish unscrutinised and with impunity.
I am a carer in an Aged care facility and I do not agree with camera’s in the residents private room. We undress, shower, toilet and change continence aids in their room. Privacy is just that Private. I would not like my parents
being watched while their care is given. I am pretty sure they would be horrified to know that they are being filmed while naked.
I personally have witnessed elder abuse in an age care facility Police have to wear body cameras to protect themselves and the public. I fully support cameras if nothing else it’s a deterrent. I was in my 40’s in a private hospital seriously I’ll and was abused by an agency relief nurse fortunately I was able to phone my husband whom came straight in and dealt with the situation with the ceo of the hospital. How many get away with vulnerable people who cannot speak up or protect themselves?