The chief executive of the group Residential Care Rights, Mary Lyttle, said the attention given to a spate of nursing home alleged shortfalls appeared to have encouraged concerned staff or relatives to speak out. She said the latest allegations should be thoroughly investigated. The assistant secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, Hannah Sellers, said this was the first time the union had been made aware of any allegations against the home. The union would meet staff at the home on Monday but preliminary discussions had revealed at least some of the allegations were several years old. Relatives of residents at Footscray Society for Aged Care said yesterday they were happy with the standard of care at the home and angry about the distress that had been caused to them and staff.
Some staff believe the anonymous letter had been written by a disgruntled former employee.
Les Schroeder whose wife, Zena, has been in the Footscray home for more than four years, said the claims against the home were rubbish. The chairman of the board of management at the Footscray home, Alby Richardson, said they received the letter on Tuesday and immediately called a meeting of staff. Mr Richardson said the home had received legal advice and was confident it would clear its name. While not denying some of the incidents in the letter had taken place, Mr Richardson said many of them had occurred several years ago and all had been adequately addressed. The Footscray home has met building standards set by the Commonwealth and is seeking accreditation to continue as a nursing home after tough new care standards come into force at the end of the year.