An aged care watchdog’s response to an Adelaide nursing home’s handling of a dementia patient’s attack on another patient was “underwhelming”, according to the coroner. South Australian coroner Mark Johns is investigating the death of Dorothy Mavis Baum, 93, who was attacked at St Basil’s Nursing Home at Christie Downs in May 2012. The inquest heard dementia sufferer Rozalia Setalo, 85, had gone on a rampage using a plastic chain and her walking frame as weapons and inflicted horrific injuries on Ms Baum, who was bed-bound. During her evidence last month, registered nurse Ute Latz said she locked herself and another resident in a nurses’ station after Ms Setalo assaulted her during the outburst. The inquest heard Ms Latz did not check on whether any residents had been injured until three hours later, when she discovered Ms Baum. The coroner held a hearing today to ascertain information about the Aged Care Complaints Commission investigation into the incident. Mr Johns said, from what he had heard so far, the outcome of the commission’s investigation was essentially to rule that the nursing home could continue “business as usual” with just some changes made to policies. “I would like to hear from someone from the commissioner’s office to offer some explanation to me as to why I should not form that view.” Mr Johns said he was critical of whether the commission sent an adequate message to the nursing home in response to the incident, given the nurse in question was still employed by St Basil’s more than four years later. “I can’t be confident that she [Ms Latz] won’t behave in the same manner tonight or tomorrow night if the same thing happened,” he said “I’m tentatively of the view that the commission’s response was inadequate.” The court heard the commission had provided Mr Johns with a letter and information but there was confusion whether the details could be publicised in the inquest or were for his eyes only. Mr Johns said the letter did not provide him with any comfort and that if further discussions could not be had with the commission, he would have “grave concerns to all persons who have anything to do with the aged care system”. Counsel representing the Aged Care Complaints Commission said the commission was committed to do what it could to assist the coronial inquest, but that he would need until the end of January to respond to the coroner’s requests.
