A state-run mental health service at Glenside has been put on notice and two staff suspended after an inquiry found nurses were relying too heavily on medication, isolation and restraining patients to manage their difficult behaviours. Staff at the 40-bed Glenside Inpatient Rehabilitation Service say they feel they are in “survival mode” at work and are fearful of “aggressive” patients. But some were found to have made disparaging comments about patients with severe mental illness or disability who were “not worth” the effort or cost to rehabilitate. A report released on Tuesday warned there was a big focus on security at the facility but at times it was “not clear whether there were any nurses on the floor”. A lack of training was identified as most nursing staff were unable to “demonstrate any knowledge” of the key methods of their roles. Staff injury rates and mental stress complaints were rising as nurses responded to “the most disabled and disturbed patients”. A “successful day” was described by nurses as “a day when no one gets hurt”. The number of patients fleeing the facility is also the highest in the nation. The unit was built a decade ago and offers long and short-term live-in treatment. Commissioned by the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and conducted by independent investigators, the report makes 30 recommendations, which have all been accepted. Allegations about the behaviour of two workers have been referred to SA Health Human Resources for investigation. Chief Psychiatrist John Brayley has applied conditions on the unit that require “intensive monitoring” by senior health staff and a new oversight committee. The report, which was sparked by complaints from staff, also found: HIGH turnover of staff, who work 12-hour shifts AN average age among nurses of 58 BULLYING among a “small number” of staff “NO clear system” to help staff deal with “high rates” of patients who are drug or alcohol-affected. The report notes that significant changes had already been made at the unit and these would “need to be sustained over a considerable period” to ensure cultural change. Mental Health Nursing co-director Lesley Legg said staff were taking part in new training courses. The facility was still accepting new patients.
May 8, 2019
Former deputy director general of the WA Department of Premier and Cabinet Michelle Andrews has been formally appointed as the new head of the Department of Communities.
May 8, 2019
Skeletal remains found by the bank of a river have been confirmed to be those of a missing retiree who wandered from his NSW nursing home 16 months ago. William Torrens, 75, was first reported missing from a retirement village in Moree on January 5, 2018. Human remains were found by the bank of the Mehi River earlier in the year, but police initially ruled out the possibility they were Torrens’. Further forensic testing determined on Friday they were indeed the pensioners’, bringing the search to a grim end. His death is not being treated as suspicious. Police will now prepare a report for the Coroner.
May 8, 2019
Prue Torrance has been appointed Executive Director, Research Quality and Priorities at the National Health and Medical Research Council. She moves across from the Department of Education and Training, where she has spent the last five years.
May 8, 2019
A Bundaberg woman has lodged a $2m Supreme Court claim against her former employer and a former colleague after an alleged workplace injury.
May 8, 2019
A dementia patient had a “Wet Wipes” towelette stuffed into her mouth by a care worker to keep her quiet at a Sydney aged care home, Manly Local Court has heard. Anita Prajapati, 31, of Dee Why, also allegedly slapped the woman, aged in her late 80s, across the mouth after she screamed while her clothes were being changed. It is alleged that Ms Prajapati shoved the “scrunched up” Wet Wipes into the elderly woman’s mouth in a room at Peter Cosgrove House — a high-care unit at the RSL LifeCare “War Vets” home at Narrabeen. Ms Prajapati was suspended from her job as a care service employee after a workmate, who allegedly saw the assault on November 1 last year, made a complaint to management. She was later charged with one count of common assault. Ms Prajapati has pleaded not guilty. The workmate, Larissa Daley, told the court on Monday that she and Ms Prajapati were both helping the patient move from a chair to her bed at 2.30pm when the elderly woman, who can no longer talk, screamed out. “That’s when Anita slapped her in the mouth and said ‘stop that’,” Ms Daley said. She said the alleged slap covered the patient’s mouth. Ms Daley said a few moments later, when she and Ms Prajapati were trying to undress the patient, the elderly woman screamed out again. “(Anita) put the Wet Wipe in her mouth and said ‘I told you to stop that’,” Ms Daley said. “It ended up scrunched up in her mouth.” When asked to describe Ms Prajapati’s demeanour at the time of the alleged incident, Ms Daley replied: “Frustrated”. Ms Daley reported the alleged assault to management at Peter Cosgrove House at 4.30pm the same day. She did not report the incident until after she and Ms Prajapati attended to two more patients. Management then contacted police. The court was told that Ms Daley had been upset that Ms Prajapati had criticised her standard of work on a number of occasions and that she had “belittled” Ms Daley in front of their colleagues. Ms Prajapati denied slapping the elderly woman or placing a moistened towelette in her mouth. She told the court that she had only wiped food from around the patient’s mouth as they prepared her for bed. Ms Prajapati said she asked the patient if she was “fine” while helping her out of her clothes, gave her a glass of water, turned on her TV and told her to “have a wonderful day” when she left the room. Magistrate Michelle Goodwin placed a non-publication order on any information that may help identity the alleged victim. Ms Goodwin adjourned the part-heard hearing to Manly Local Court on July 5.
May 8, 2019
A s.185 (Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement) by MQ Health Pty Limited T/A Macquarie University Hospital has been ratified by Fair Work Commissioner Wilson in Melbourne on 2 May 2019.
May 7, 2019
Minda Incorporated is still fighting a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) in front of Fair Work Commissioner Platt in Hearing Room 6.2 – Level 6 in Adelaide (Constantine).
