Audit findings confirm rest home issues

22/12/2009 | Audit findings confirm rest home issues

A quality audit of the Rose A Lea Rest Home in Palmerston North has upheld complaints about the standard of care provided to residents and as a result the MidCentral District Health Board (MDHB) has terminated its agreement with the owners.

MDHB instigated an immediate audit last month after concerns were expressed about the restraint and care of a patient, as well as hygiene standards, insufficient staff training and lack of registered nurse supervision.

The 13 residents at the Botanical Road facility were moved to other rest homes during the audit and a statutory manager appointed. Rose A Lea was contracted by MDHB to provide 25 rest home level care beds.

Rimu Rest Home, another Palmerston North facility operated by the Rose A Lea’s owners and also subjected to the audit, remains under temporary MDHB management. A draft report is due to be completed this week.

General Manager Funding Division, Mike Grant, said the report, prepared by independent auditors from the Central Region’s Technical Advisory Service, had been divided into six sections - rest home management, human resources (staff), physical environment, food services, clinical care and incidents and accidents.

“In most sections, particularly clinical care, a high risk rating was given to key findings,” said Mr Grant, “including 20 breaches of industry-accepted good practice, 12 instances of legislation breaches and over 30 instances of breach of agreement.”

He said the audit team verified that the majority of issues in the original complaint could be upheld.

“There were significant issues relating to the standard of care provided, poor incident management processes, unacceptable method of restraint, medication management, food services, insufficient cleaning standards and general hazards which placed residents at risk of harm.”
Mr Grant said the most significant finding centred on the standard of care.

“Supervision and oversight of clinical care has been lacking and there was evidence that current accepted good practice was not being utilised relating to assessments and treatment of residents, training of staff in appropriate care, restraint management, medicine management and ensuring residents were reassessed when their needs changed.”
He said the breaches were significant and there were no immediate plans to reissue an agreement with Rose A Lea’s owners.

The report has been presented to all parties involved and is now open to residents and their families, as well as the public.