A former Benhome employee claims the home’s care staff are being wrongly blamed for an administration blunder which left some remaining workers on shift for 17 hours often in dementia wards.
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Assistant in Nursing Liz Turek, who left on September 16, said the opening of a new $18million wing left Benhome acutely understaffed and care workers like herself feeling exhausted and undervalued.
“Some of us were working 102 hour fortnights on $23 an hour. The care staff were the eyes and ears of the one registered nurse on duty. I have been kicked, hit, bitten, spat at, yelled at and verbally abused and people often forget the sacrifices care workers make,” Mrs Turek said.
She remembers when all levels of staff were like one big family. Everyone loved their jobs, the residents and the home’s administration. But a recent changing of the guard heralded one of Benhome’s darkest days.
Benhome now operates under an adviser appointed by the Department of Health after being sanctioned for failing to meet 14 of 44 accreditation standards. Mrs Turek said there was a mass exodus of upper management staff with the exception of new CEO John Cleary.
I have been kicked, hit, bitten, spat at, yelled at and verbally abused
- Former Benhome AIN Liz Turek
“We had one registered nurse and a new phone system that didn’t work. The AIN’s ran the floor. If something went wrong we couldn’t get hold of the RN because the phones were down. We had to use our personal phones to ring the nurse on duty,” she said. “We felt isolated. We couldn’t leave the floor to find someone in an emergency. We felt fragile, vulnerable and liable.”
Despite their fears the workers tried to continue to provide high quality care. “We held residents’ hands when they were frightened, we laughed, cried, hugged families and had the privilege of caring for loved ones as they pass away. We always gave dignity, respect. Benhome lost 14 standards this accreditation for “clinical care” “documentation” and it’s being laid at the feet of care workers for “not following process” and for being unskilled. We don’t know what we didn’t do,” she said.
A recent meeting heard how the facility has six months to regain accreditation. One family member who attended said there was a general feeling of relief that changes would occur and Benhome would move forward in a positive light.
Benhome has issued the following statement:
On Friday 21 September, approximately 100 residents and their families attended a meeting to hear from representatives of Benhome and the Department of Health about the facility’s approach to addressing their not-met accreditation standards.
At the meeting, Benhome outlined its commitment to the process, residents, their families and staff. This includes working closely with the Department of Health to ensure that Benhome meets all standards and requirements. Work began last week with the appointment of Deborah Bettens who a respected professional in the aged care industry. Deb and the staff at Benhome have embarked on a six-month program that includes staff training, regulatory compliance management and stakeholder communications.
Benhome has always received industry benchmark data which continues to reflect favourably on its staffing levels and will continue to review this.
The aged care facility is confident that it will meet departmental compliance within the scheduled time frame.
Benhome is focused on its important and ongoing commitment to provide the best possible care and support to our residents, their families, and our staff.
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