4 Aug 2014

Rest home criticised for poor care

4:40 pm on 4 August 2014

An Auckland rest home has been criticised by the Health and Disability Commissioner for its treatment of an 86-year-old woman who died shortly after she stayed there.

The nurse manager at the facility has been referred for possible further action.

The woman went to The Willows rest home, which says it provides "hospital-level" care, after being injured in a fall.

But Commissioner Anthony Hill says its care plan didn't say how her diabetes, dementia, prolapses and swallowing difficulties should be dealt with, and proper records weren't kept about her falls and food intake.

Her daughters complained that she was soaked in urine and sitting in her own faeces when they visited.

The woman's family had her transferred to another rest home, where she stayed for a week before being sent to hospital - where she died after suffering hypothermia and kidney failure.

The owner of The Willows rest home couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.