A Timaru rest home has been told to apologise to the family of a woman that died after staff failed to identify and respond to signs of dehydration and deterioration.
The Health and Disability Commission says the rest home had inadequate care planning for food and nutrition and had failed undertake a skin scraping for suspected scabies in a timely manner (File image). Photo: 123rf.com
The woman, in her 80s, had severe dementia and spent four months at the Radius Care Elloughton Gardens in 2018.*
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rose Wall found the woman was failed by the rest home on multiple occasions, including inadequate care planning for food and nutrition and a failure to undertake a skin scraping for suspected scabies in a timely manner.
"I have a number of concerns about the care provided to [the woman] while at Elloughton Gardens. [Her] deterioration was not unexpected, owing to her severe dementia, of which dehydration is a common feature, and she was reliant on staff to identify this and to implement appropriate care, in agreement with the family," Wall said.
"In my view, a number of aspects of the care provided to the woman were deficient, and the failures of multiple nursing staff involved in the woman's care demonstrate a pattern of suboptimal care."
Staff also failed to undertake an assessment of the woman within the first three weeks of her coming to the rest home, as was policy.
The woman was admitted to hospital four months after she first moved the rest home.
On admission, she was found to be severely dehydrated and was diagnosed with chronic renal impairment and also pneumonia.
She died the next day.
Radius told the investigation the care it provided the woman was reasonable and appropriate.
"Radius takes the care of all residents very seriously, and was upset to discover that [the woman's] family were unhappy with the level of care provided to her. While Radius feels saddened for [the] family, it remains of the view that the care and services it provided was reasonable and appropriate."
Radius told the Health and Disability Commission it had made changes following the woman's death.
"Radius has tightened its documentation processes to ensure that all documentation is completed fully, accurately and in a timely manner. This is reflected in the orientation and ongoing training/education staff receive at Radius. Radius' compliance with its documentation processes is regularly reviewed through its internal audit process."
Wall said the provider breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. It should provide a written apology to the family and update the commission with its policy review on various matters, including to do with diet and nutrition management.
*This story was originally published on 29 March, 2021, and updated on 30 March to correct it is in relation to Elloughton Gardens not Elloughton Village.