industry & reform
“ When people die , in their last moment of life , you want to be there to hold their hand . As my husband said , ‘ We should have been there to pat her head . We should have been there saying ‘ Mum it ’ s okay , it ’ s okay , don ’ t be scared .’
“ My mother-in-law went from Epping Gardens into an ambulance and there ’ s no translator . People were obviously in PPE gear , over to a hospital , in emergency , all in PPE gear , hazmat or whatever .”
“ Up to a ward with no translator . Everyone ’ s in PPE gear , you can imagine how those wards were running , with people walking around everywhere with masks and swabs . That would have terrified her .”
Sue and her family are not suing for any monetary gain she says , but for every family who has suffered as a result of the aged care system .
“ I ’ m going to be honest here . This needs to never happen to any other family ever again . Aged care needs to be addressed . Our concern is we signed a contract to put our loved ones into Epping Gardens , for them to give her a duty of care and look after her . The owners of Heritage Care own another eight or nine centres . Is this going on in their other centres ?” she said .
“ It ’ s about respect and dignity of our loved ones and it ’ s about making the government stand up and take some responsibility and accountability , to get their heads together and get it right .
“ Well , as my husband said , his mother doesn ’ t have a voice here anymore , because that got taken away from her . He said , ‘ If we don ’ t speak , this is going to get swept under the carpet .’”
TIME FOR RETRIBUTION Carbone has also launched proceedings against St Basil ’ s home in Melbourne with over 20 families joining so far . He believes that these lawsuits will shake up the aged care sector .
He argues that this action is a warning to large providers and potential investors that aged care is no longer a “ cash cow ”. And he says that providers should be liable for criminal prosecution in severe neglect cases such as we are seeing across Victoria .
“ Unless there ’ s some sort of retributional penalty , it seems like these things will keep going on . I think you need that to keep people honest .”
As it stands , the Agnellos have not received an apology or even a message of condolence from any Heritage Care or Epping Gardens representatives .
Yet this may never bring peace to the family , who now have to face months reliving it all with the impending court proceedings and the constant memory of their last goodbyes with Carmela .
“ We probably got the last words out of her , on that Sunday afternoon at two o ’ clock … she blew us a kiss and said , ‘ I love you all .’ I don ’ t think anyone in our family will ever forget that , because every one of us should have been there holding her hand .” ■
The AMH Aged Care Companion is a trusted , practical reference for all health professionals and carers who work with older people . It contains the latest evidence-based information on the management of more than 70 conditions common in older people . The new release includes a number of changes . Updated topics including behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia ( BPSD ), epilepsy , heart failure , immunisation , type 2 diabetes and urinary tract infections to name a few .
Available in book or online . For further information or to purchase go to www . amh . net . au agedcareinsite . com . au 11