Shocking footage of restrained aged care residents prompts new regulations | 7.30

Summary

The video highlights the alarming conditions in aged care facilities in Australia, showcasing instances where elderly residents are physically and chemically restrained. Michelle McCullough's father, Terry, was tied to a chair and allegedly given antipsychotic medication without proper consent. Margaret Barton's case further illustrates the horrific practices as she experienced excessive drug administration that contributed to her physical decline and subsequent death. The lack of regulation on the use of restraints in aged care homes has drawn severe criticism, prompting calls for stringent reforms. Advocacy for better practices is growing as many believe the current system leads to unnecessary harm and abuse among the elderly.

Highlights

• Michelle McCullough's father was restrained for up to 14 hours a day at the nursing home. ⏰
• Elderly residents face physical and chemical restraints without proper oversight. 🏥
• There is a significant lack of regulation regarding the use of restraints in aged care in Australia. 🚫
• Cases like these highlight the urgent need for better practices and regulations in aged care. 🚨
• The Royal Commission is expected to address these issues as top priorities. 📢

Key Takeaways

• Elderly residents in nursing homes are often restrained physically and chemically against their will or without proper consent. 😢
• Michelle McCullough's father was frequently tied to a chair and allegedly given antipsychotics improperly. 😨
• Margaret Barton died due to neglect and excessive medication, highlighting severe flaws in aged care. ⚠️
• Reforms are urgently needed in Australia's aged care system to prevent abuse and ensure humane treatment. 🛑
• Australia lacks a proper framework for the use of restrictive practices in aged care, unlike many other countries. 📉

Overview

The disturbing footage from Australia's aged care facilities has shocked the nation, revealing how vulnerable elderly residents are in these institutions. The video captured Michelle McCullough's father, Terry, being physically restrained for extended periods, drawing attention to the lack of regulations governing such actions. This has raised serious concerns about the rights and dignity of aged care residents.

The case of Margaret Barton further exemplifies the dire situation, as she suffered from excessive medication that led to her physical decline and eventual death. These revelations have sparked public outrage and called into question the ethics and accountability within Australia's aged care system. Many are demanding immediate reforms to protect the elderly from such abusive practices.

Amidst public pressure, there is a growing call for the Royal Commission to prioritize these alarming practices at the forefront of their investigations. Experts are advocating for a systematic overhaul, including frameworks that ensure humane and ethical treatment of the elderly in care homes. It's a wake-up call for Australia to align with global standards in aged care to prevent further harm and negligence.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction to Terry Reeves' Situation This chapter introduces the reader to the situation of Terry Reeves, a dementia patient who recently moved to a Sydney nursing home for respite care. The narrative begins with Michelle McCullough, a frequent visitor due to her father's stay there, recounting her father's initial reaction. Terry expresses that while he finds the place lovely, he is not emotionally prepared to be in such an environment, highlighting the emotional struggles faced by both patients and their families.
• 01:00 - 03:00: Discovery of Restraint and Chemical Use The chapter discusses the diagnosis and progress of Alzheimer's disease in a patient named Teri, who at the time of diagnosis was 60 years old. Despite seven years of disease progression, Teri continues to function well and resides at Garden View nursing home in Western Sydney, Maryland. The chapter seems to explore themes related to medical treatment, possibly focusing on restraint and chemical use in the management of Alzheimer's, as hinted at by the chapter title.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Family's Response and Nursing Home's Statement In this chapter, a disturbing incident is recounted where a daughter discovers her elderly father tied to a chair in his room at a nursing home. The daughter is shocked to find him restrained and left alone, comparing it to neglectful pet care. The situation raises questions about the consent given by the family, as the nursing home later claimed they obtained permission to restrain the man, named Terry, for his own safety if he posed a risk to himself.
• 05:00 - 09:00: Margaret Barton's Story In the chapter titled 'Margaret Barton's Story,' the narrative revolves around the excessive use of restraints on residents, including a particular resident who was restrained for a total of 14 hours in a single 24-hour period. The presence of family members did not deter this practice, as it was a daily occurrence. These alarming assertions are highlighted amidst descriptions of other residents also being restrained, emphasizing a broader pattern of such behavior within the facility.
• 09:00 - 10:00: Conclusion and Calls for Reform In the chapter titled 'Conclusion and Calls for Reform,' the discussion focuses on the lack of regulation regarding the use of restraints in aged care facilities. The chapter highlights an incident where a distressed woman filmed a man being restrained, questioning the normalcy and legality of such actions. Queensland public advocate Mary Burgess comments on the issue, pointing out that without specific regulations, nursing homes have the discretion to use restraints as they see fit. The narrative suggests a call for reform to protect the human rights of individuals in these settings.

Shocking footage of restrained aged care residents prompts new regulations | 7.30 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Michelle McCullough was a regular visitor while her father was in respite at a Sydney nursing home last year teri Reeves had dementia and was his first time in care on the first day he said to my sister as I sat down had a cup of coffee it's a lovely place but I'm just not ready for this yet which was heartbreaking
• 00:30 - 01:00 teri was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 60 for seven years on the disease had progressed though he still functioned well teri was living here at Garden View nursing home in Maryland's Western Sydney being tired for days after his
• 01:00 - 01:30 daughter took this video she was shocked to find her father tied to a chair in his room he was left in a room by himself tied into a chair why it's you wouldn't tell you dog often leave them like that when alone elderly man the home later obtained consent from the family to restrain Terry if he was a danger to himself or
• 01:30 - 02:00 others but Michelle claims it was used too often and for too long in one 24-hour period he spent a total of 14 hours restrained every single day there was a family member there and every single day he was in a restraint other residents were also restrained and he's shuffling along with the chair [Applause]
• 02:00 - 02:30 she was so distressed by this man she filmed him was anyone disturbed by this no everyone just behaved as if it was normal well it's it's a breach of his human rights we showed the video to the Queensland public advocate Mary Burgess who says because there's no regulation on restraints in aged care a nursing home can use them when and how it wants we know there are people who have
• 02:30 - 03:00 challenging behaviour and it's in their interests and the interests of others around them to be managing that but you can't have these things operating in a legal vacuum if this was happening to anyone who wasn't part of the aged the aged population in a nursing home it would be regarded as criminal Michelle believes her father was also given anti-psychotic medication as a
• 03:00 - 03:30 chemical restraint that day we couldn't even get him to wake couldn't get him to look at us nothing that was the day that we asked them to cease medical charts and they showed us it and said see we've given him nothing when we checked out and took him home on the last day my mother received a bill in the mail from the chemist which had three boxes in total
• 03:30 - 04:00 containing a hundred and eighty antipsychotic medications Gardenview nursing home said those drugs weren't all used and Terry Reeves was given antipsychotics on just six occasions it said it's changed its policy on physical restraints and we regret that these improvements were not in place when Terry Reeves was a resident Michelle McCullough asked for her father's
• 04:00 - 04:30 records but was told she needed a subpoena hello mr. terris Professor Henry Brad Daugherty is Australia's foremost authority on dementia although nursing homes need consent from families or guardians to give antipsychotics he says that rarely happens we did a survey of nursing homes over a decade ago we found only six point five percent of people had been started on antipsychotics in this or any psychotropic and nursing
• 04:30 - 05:00 home had written consent in their file another six point five there have been verbal consent documented do you think that GPS are also being pressured into prescribing antipsychotics and sedatives oh very often a nurse will ring up and say mrs. Smith is being agitated she's going to other people's room she's screaming all night can you give her something and of course that's the easiest thing to do to give her something
• 05:00 - 05:30 84 year old Margaret Barton was given drugs for agitation at two nursing homes on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula at the first Craig Kerr Mornington the doctor prescribed a sedative box as a Pam to be given by staff as needed three weeks on he tripled the drug dosage later described as excessive she'd assumed to be completely out of it we
• 05:30 - 06:00 just thought that this was about the advancing dementia you know as as laypeople we don't know a lot about these things Margaret's husband Harold wanted to visit her daily so a month after being in Craig care he moved her to nearby Mecca care Park Hill [Music]
• 06:00 - 06:30 when she was transferred she arrived with instructions to be given oxy so Pam three times a day plus extra as needed over the next 10 days Margaret had seven Falls because I think she had become a little bit aggressive she was given drugs and because of the drugs she lost her balance and she got a bruising of our black eye and broken
• 06:30 - 07:00 pelvis in fact terrible conditions really there when I finally got the call that she'd been admitted to Frankston Hospital and I went to see her and I just was just utterly unbelievable because she just looked like you know skin and bones and I said I know look do you know she'll be okay you can go home so I traveled it two-and-a-half hours back home again only to get a phone call the next morning that she died what was it oh she
• 07:00 - 07:30 wasn't she was by herself no the coroner found the 84 year old died of pneumonia caused by rib and pelvic fractures and that the medication regime contributed to her physical decline and death
• 07:30 - 08:00 Margaret Barton died after being in care for just over eight weeks in a statement to the ABC Prague care and mikvah care said staff gave medications as prescribed by the doctor and they have since improved their processes [Music] these specialists save the use of physical and chemical restraints shall be top of the agenda for the Royal
• 08:00 - 08:30 Commission there's some fantastic practices happening in nursing homes now and they should be models of what other nursing homes can do and they're not doing it with extra cost they're doing it with change of attitude or change of practice Australia is one of the few modern Western countries to still not have any framework for the use of these practices in aged care and we know from the research that the use of restrictive practices on older people actually
• 08:30 - 09:00 causes them harm psychological and potentially other physical harms hi dad he went in as a man who could feed himself who could take himself to the bathroom who could engage in a conversation to come out and and be a man who couldn't feed himself needed assistance walking couldn't take himself
• 09:00 - 09:30 to the bathroom lost all of that do you think that's just part of the dementia not that quickly it just seems to me earthly bizarre that her mum can go into a nursing home being quite reasonably healthy but suffering from dementia and we expected her to live for quite a number of years later and yet to find that in in eight weeks time she's dead and that you know you just can't help feeling that the system killed mum
• 09:30 - 10:00 there's got to be better alternatives you you