Safety of Aged Care Residents a top priority for DHB.

Canterbury DHB CEO David Meates says he and his staff have made the welfare of elderly people in residential care a top priority in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake.

“We have all learned from the mistakes of the past, and the plight of aged people in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina is still very fresh in our minds. Sadly, many of the frail elderly were not moved from their unsafe facilities early enough, and many perished. I want to assure everyone that the decision to move residents was not made lightly. I know staff are feeling very upset about the way they have had to operate, without the luxury of time to work with families as they usually would. They know just how fragile many of the resthome residents are, as they care for them day in and day out. In many cases, they have been working in facilities where it was just not possible to keep residents safe. We can not, and will not allow vulnerable people to stay in situations of avoidable risk.”

In the past seven days, more than 300 people in Aged Residential Care facilities have been transferred either out of Christchurch to other regions, from Invercargill to Auckland, or to undamaged facilities within Christchurch.

“The volume and speed of transfers has meant that we have not been able to follow our usual process of working closely with families. Our social workers and the receiving DHB staff from around the country are working hard, and will continue to work hard to contact families affected by this transfer,” says David Meates. “If you believe your relative may have been relocated and you are unable to contact their usual aged residential care provider to confirm their location, please phone 337 8937 for information.”

“I acknowledge this has been very difficult for families. This is not what we would ever do in ideal circumstances, but these circumstances are far from ideal. This has been a hard call to make, but one of many hard calls that will be needed as we deal with the aftermath of this disaster. I am confident that the teams caring for each person being transferred are doing their utmost to make the best of an extraordinary and distressing situation. We are very thankful to the receiving DHBs for their rapid response to our urgent need.”

Vulnerable older people in the community that urgently require assistance because of health or disability needs should contact Older Persons Health on (03) 337 7765 for assessment and advice.
Despite there being extreme pressure on Aged Residential Care beds within Canterbury, services are available for those that need them and the Canterbury DHB is able to help people access services outside the region if necessary.

Canterbury DHB is also establishing an additional respite service for older people in Christchurch, and has established a 24hour assessment centre for frail elderly at Princess Margaret Hospital.

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