Nurse fired for abuse of elderly residents
Nursing home staff in central NSW have been sacked for photographing residents naked and depriving a man of food.
The workers were found to be negligent in their care of residents and would take part in a game called the "Genital Friday Club", the Herald Sun reports.
Two nurses, allegedly the ringleaders, were fired on February 16 after an independent investigation into staff conduct at Central Coast's William Cape Gardens nursing home.
A third nurse who was suspended has since been reinstated, but a fourth nurse has resigned.
The investigation found the acts of neglect and abuse were "known by quite a few members of staff" and were committed over a period of "some months".
The anonymous whistleblower told The Sunday Telegraph that the "Genital Friday Club" involved photographing the genitals of the residents on an iPhone and then passing the images around for colleagues to guess who they belonged to.
It was alleged three nurses had told an elderly woman with dementia that her husband was having an affair with her best friend while she was in care.
In another incident, when an elderly resident was deprived of food, one nurse allegedly said: "He was going to die anyway and this way it would make it quicker."
Peter Thirgood, whose mother Edna is a resident at the centre, was shocked to hear of the alleged behaviour.
"How disgusting. I know some people are not happy around there," He said.
William Cape's spokesman Tim Allerton said relatives of a female and male resident were given a full explanation and apology, both which were accepted.
He said it was unclear how many of the 121 elderly residents had their genitals photographed but has reported the matter to police.
"In regards to the allegations (that a dying man was starved), we can't really comment on that. We've reported it to police and it's in their hands," he said.
The Federal Department of Health and Ageing and NSW Police have both launched investigations.
Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme investigators will go to the facility tomorrow to complete a full investigation.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...erly-residents
Reply With Quote
