Saturday, July 13, 2013

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. FRANZ HANKER, FORMERLY A RESIDENT IN QUEENSLAND HEALTH'S 'PARKLANDS RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE FACILITY' TOWNSVILLE?





A DAUGHTER PLEADS: SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT. STOP TURNING A BLIND EYE.

Just click on documents to view.

SING HAS TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF POSTING, IN FULL, THIS LETTER BELOW FROM FRANK'S DISTRESSED DAUGHTER.

TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC: THESE STORIES ARE NOT UNCOMMON TO THIS WRITER. SING RECEIVES MANY SUCH NARRATIVES FROM OTHER DISTRESSED FAMILY MEMBERS AND STAFF, WHO HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL RECOMMENDED AVENUES.

TO THE PREMIER ANNA BLIGH, THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH PAUL LUCAS AND THE PRIME MINISTER JULIA GILLARD:
TIME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THESE STORIES ARE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT AND ARE NOT THE FIGMENT OF OTHERS' IMAGINATIONS. THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING IN OUR AGED CARE SYSTEM AND IS BECOMING WORSE. TO QUOTE THE AUTHOR OF THIS HEART FELT LETTER - MY FATHER MAY HAVE BEEN ELDERLY - BUT THAT DID NOT MAKE HIM ANY LESS OF A HUMAN BEING THAN YOU OR I.
TO ANOTHER HEART FELT QUOTE BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND SING'S MOTTO:
OUR LIVES BEGIN TO END THE DAY WE BECOME SILENT ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTER.

PREMIER BLIGH, MINISTER LUCAS AND PRIME MINISTER GILLARD:
SING'S SUPPORTERS HAVE NOT AND WILL NOT REMAIN SILENT WHILE THIS ABUSE/ASSAULT OF OUR ELDERLY AND DISABLED CITIZENS CONTINUES.

SING'S QUEENSLAND HEALTH PUBLIC INTEREST WHISTLEBLOWERS WILL NOT REMAIN SILENT ABOUT THESE MATTERS - UNTIL THEIR PLIGHT IS HEARD.









Also see article on right of SING's website:(1a) Bupa care home staff tormented dementia victims and recorded their 'despicable' acts on their mobile phones.
Please see a chronology of abuse/assault at EVENTIDE NURSING HOME, BRIGHTON/SANDGATE, BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND on posts below, beginning 7th November 2010.

18 comments:

  1. Just reading some of the comments on your blog Karen...and I notice they are all anonymous. Anna Bligh & Paul Lucas would do well to take note of how much fear there is amongst people to speak out. Do we want a transparent Government with Integrity? It's up to the people of Queensland and Australia to drive this issue. When it comes to charities we are one of the most generous of all nations. We have millions of compassionate Australians....now is the time to support your own nation....our own people are suffering and need your help.

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  2. Connie
    Premier Anna Bligh and Minister Paul Lucas are well aware of the 'fear factor' of employees when they witness wrongdoing. They have Public Interest Whistleblowers within Queensland Health who have had to venture outside the normal policies and procedures to be heard. 'Shoot the messenger' is alive and well within this government. You only have to pick up a newspaper to know the dreadful state aged care and health is in due to the incompetence of this government.

    I would suggest that this is exactly the way they want it. Employees too afraid to speak out maintains the status quo. Those not afraid to speak out - they destroy.

    But websites like SING and Whistleblowing Women continue to soldier on.

    I believe that Public Interest Whistleblowers such as Toni Hoffman, Christine Cameron and myself are being heard by the general public.
    I believe it will not be long before Queensland Health, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme and all the others mentioned in your story will be forced to actually implement constructive action.

    I would like to thank you for allowing SING to post your compelling story. You have not remained anonymous and your story has exposed the shame that is aged care in Queensland Health.

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  3. I know from past experience that you are right Karen. 5 years of going through the 'right chanels' has made me well aware of the inadequacies of Government Departments - they are all quick to pass the buck, say it's out of their scope or ignore you...and leave you feeling impotent and frustrated. Whatever they may do is always too little, too late.

    The photo above with the severe bruising to my father's face, was from one of the 9 documented falls, when for months we were trying to get our father access to a walking frame. How can anyone justify not giving him an aid by saying 'it was trialed & he parks & forgets it or pushes it away in frustration & someone may be injured' - when he fell so often and we were trying to avoid what eventually happened - a broken hip. They told us that if we went & bought one ourselves, he would not be allowed to use it because the physio assessment said he could not have one.

    I feel honoured to be able to support your brave advocacy of our vulnerable & voiceless elderly & disabled. I used to say 'why hasn't someone done something about this in the past - then I realised that I was someone.'

    It is up to all of us to see how things could be and work towards changing them - we are all only limited by our fears.

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  4. I just read Connie's letter and would like to confirm her experiences with the Townsville nursing home PARKLAND. I visited that place several times and was not able to find any nurses for more than 30 minutes, while the residents would be restrained in their chairs not able to move. Some slided down and 'hang' in their chairs visibly uncomfortable. The place was extremely cold but residents would only be dressed lightly. (I was told that it smells less like urine that way.)

    Staff would serve meals but would not support people that had difficulties feeding themselves.

    So called Care Plans, written by doctors and health professionals, were ignored by nurses. Numerous file notes repeatedly 'disappeared', got lost. Some notes would re-appear months later giving the impression they were re-written.

    Nurses would not contact next of kin, if there were 'uncomfortable'. The Director of Nursing once said to my face that their residents "were waiting to die and that was what the nursing home was for". She also commented: "We give them 2 years to die".
    I assume Connie's father was 'over his due time'???

    I also observed that nurses at PARKLAND feed a very obese woman constantly with sweets, even though they knew it would kill her. It was against doctor's advice! Their comment: xy "has nothing else in life". Not for much longer anyway...
    It would have been too difficult for nursing staff to put the person on the diet that was prescibed by the GP.

    This person was also denied an electric wheelchair as it was considered too 'dangerous' as the person could leave the nursing home. This person was only in her 30s bound to bed due to the massive overweight and the refusal of a wheelchair.

    Restricting people in their mobility and freedom and overmedicating them, made it possible for PARKLAND nurses not to do their duties and to leave residents without support.

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  5. I still support cameras in all areas of all units with sound on............ you would throw up with what you see and hear and it all relates back to financial desisions to support the big bonus at the top. Lack of education, insite, compassion,the spoken English,poor attitude and ratio to meet need is the killer in aged care - not the diagnosis on the ACAT. Even the big bonds do not exempt residents from abuse.

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  6. I also support cameras in nursing homes if they the nurses and staff did their jobs they have nothing to hide. I feel for these families the staff should not take sides they are there to do a job. How does documentation go missing someone must remove it, there should be an investigation into this, it makes me sick to my stomach to see these photos poor Mr Hanker and his family I feel your pain. It is about time people speak up and the people who do this are held accountable keep pushing on hopefully someone will listen, and the abuse of our elderly STOPS.

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  7. I have encountered many difficult situations in Nursing Homes arising in selfish relatives who don't want to spend one cent of their aged relative's money, which they believe to be their inheritance. They chose to forget that their relative is still alive and that it is their money which should be spent to give them the quality of care they deserve. In many instances the Govt Nursing Homes just do not have the funds to provide everything the person needs.

    Staff would do well to act from their hearts rather than on hearsay when they see relatives who want make excuses for any money being spent on the resident.

    Unfortunately, many times this plays right into the staffs hands...after all it requires extra work to extend a person's life with quality care rather than to end it by neglecting & denying care.

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  8. How do aged care facilities allow this type of negligence to happen. Mr. Hanker clearly has serious bruising which should have been spotted and reported. His Family have a right to be frustrated over this, people need to speak up, and the people who are responsible for such acts should be held accountable. Thank god for your website Karen, it is really shedding light on this issue because the government doesn't seem to care. You can tell by reading Georges case also. (Advocate for Aged Care)

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  9. All this bruising is not right someone has done this, not to point any fingers at anyone but why were the police not called? If bruising like this was on a child that has come home from school wouldn't the police be called?????

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  10. As an advocate/volunteer in Aged Care, I often come across distressed relatives of residents who are aghast at how their relative is drugged continuously for seemingly no reason. They have found that when they question this they are labelled as troublemakers. At the very least residents are given 2 panadol 3 times a day 'in case' they are in pain. At worst those who are considered to have had a good innings are systematically medicated until they become a vegetable & die. The staff act like they are doing them a favour.

    I have seen how quickly drugs can transition someone from a person who still has quality of life to a lifeless vegetative shell.

    No one seems to be able to break through the barrier of silence that has become our culture as Australians - isn't it time we recognised that we do not have the right to decide when someone's life is over - especially when they could still have quality of life & are not suffering. Many of these people have had a hard life, battled & survived through hard times & now when they have reached their twilight years are treated as less than animals. Just because a person is immobile doesn't make them on death's door. At least in 3rd world countries the elderly are looked after & looked up to.

    Karen - you are doing a wonderful thing. You have so much courage & fighting spirit...wish there were more like you. I pray that eventually the mass cleansing that is aged care will be exposed.

    Maybe now that Anna Bligh has allowed herself to come from her heart, she may also allow herself to see what is happening here? I have, over the past few years been able to speak with many good people in the Aged Care Sector who are totally aware of what occurs but they all say that there is nothing anyone can do about it. That this is just the way it is. Well, I'm sorry but I prefer to envision how things could & should be & say why can't we change it? From all your stories it is evident that the Whistleblower probably has the most to lose by being honest & exposing wrongdoings. It is time the general public banded together and demanded that the Government seriously look into this abuse. If we continue to be apathetic...look at what we have to look forward to...ending up like poor Franz or George?

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  11. The minute an old person steps enters a Nursing Home they are dead to the world. They have lost all rights of a normal human being. They are abused physically, emotionally and financially - and we all condone it by not speaking up. Even if they still have their wits about them they are not taken seriously. They are mimicked, laughed at and neglected by lack of food & water, over-medication, denial of supportive healthcare and are truly the forgotten. The Government doesn't even include them in the budget and we as Australians who appear to care about so many things - yet our elderly never seem to enter the equation...SHAME.

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  12. Oh my goodness, Karen what a wonderful thing you are doing for the elderly, it's like once you get a certain age, the world just forgets about you. We all need to step up and stop this abuse of our elderly,the photos of Mr Hanker say it all. These people the staff are put in hospitals and nursing homes to help them, protect and care for them, they are not obviously doing their jobs,the Government needs to step up and clean up our health care system, and why are staff not listening to family members who just want the best for their loved ones. Thank you Karen for bringing this to the attention of us all.

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  13. The disregard for family, the doctors, my GP is on the side of the nursing staff, what sort of culture is this........?, any query about drugs or nutrition has caused ramifications on the patient, my sister, who is unable to speak for herself. There is no understanding of her condition, acquired brain injury, she is humiliated, very aware, 53 years old needing high level care, dignity not considered, the one nurse that is trying to provide care where she is now has to do it behind the hierarchies backs. My sister has been in 4 institutions this year, Royal North Shore Hospital ,first, where she sustained a brain injury with further setbacks due to neglect, was in ICU and rushed out prematurely, the bed worth more than the patient. (You don't think it can get any worse but it does) A step down to economy class when she was put into the neuro and in a ward in a ward of four, with three mobile and verbally abusive men ,the one opposite she watched die, A female on her own unable to speak tied to the bed on her back without clothes on. Is this primitive or what! She was in a critical condition very sensitive to light and sound She was absolutely terrified!A torture chamber! who cared! the next step was Greenwich Hospital for "rehab" Abominable treatment ,no rehab and she was forced to leave, by an unconscionable group of hospital administrators ,her time up in the hospital system (6 months), to a nursing home,where evidence of profits for the owners more important than any person.She was due to go back to the hospital for a test, that required her to stay over night so she was evicted from the nursing home and the hospital would not take her!What is she worth..........? Not much. She was left in a foyer at the nursing home, high level care patient, while I was ordered to find a place for her within two hours by the "Hitler" in charge. The nursing staff have no idea on how to treat someone with brain injury. The neglect was evident as she had two major falls while at that institution, the doctor supposedly called said he had heard that she had had a fall, but was not called. Where were the two staff members that were required to toilet her, on a cigarette break..? And now the new place, well I had the nerve to not appreciate my sisters mohair blankets being thrown into boiling water. This was a stupid act, but we are supposed to trust that the same staff members will look after our family member when they disrespect a persons property like that. This has made life uncomfortable. The compromise was already extreme as there is no consideration regarding nutrition and the patients are given junk food. Costs are cut dramatically ,I presume to make profits for the owners of the establishment. My sister is a hot potato and noone wants her. The system stuffed up her life and now she has to pay for it. Criminals have a better life! My sister is in with dementia patients and not having rehabilitation. The hospital was not interested in assisting with finding rehabilitation , something about funding disappearing? The treatment of my sister has been absolutely disgusting. Why is my sister given panadol all the time and why has she been put on methadone ??? I am her legal guardian why do these people not care about my opinion and disregard my wishes
    With the ruining of my sisters mohair blankets, they were not replaced,she has only one cotton blanket, I requested more blankets twice but they did not appear. She had a fall on Monday and has a lot of pain in her ankle, today Friday the Dr saw her and said he cant tell it must be sprained. Why do the Drs condone the behavior and is it a lucrative business for them?? Mrs Bishop will receive a report outlining my sisters treatment when I have time to write it. I have not much time as there are many things I still have to do for my sister as her guardian. banks are unconscionable to deal with at this time as well.
    Thanks for the opportunity to tell someone
    Mary/Dee Why

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  14. Thank you for making a stand. I have seen all of the above. Lets keep brainstorming to try to fix this. and keep your faith that this will get better because of our actions. We need to keep focusing on plans for the future and how we can action them.
    Kind regards,
    Elaine Cebuliak, Bne, Qld

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  15. It is now 6 years since my father died. It's funny how things hit you in the face. I saw the book 'Could it B12?' An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses: Millions suffer from B12 deficiency, but few patients are diagnosed. The symptoms of B12 deficiency can look exactly like Alzheimer's disease, depression, dementia, multiple sclerosis, and other serious diseases, so is routinely misdiagnosed. Left untreated, it can cause permanent, crippling nerve damage - and many patients don't get treatment until it's too late.'
    I took notice of this book because when my father first showed signs of memory loss, paranoia, etc.immediately before and after his wife died, he was tested for B12, we were told he was deficient, had PERNICIOUS ANAEMIA and that he would need a blood transfusion. Not long after, we were told that he was tested again and didn't have it. He also had Parkinson-like tremors, but we had been told he didn't have Parkinsons. There are case studies in this book that are virtually identical to my father's case. I always doubted that he had Alzheimer's due to the abrupt nature of his illness. Instead of being properly followed up with B12 injections which are relatively cheap, he was medicated with Respiridone until he became a walking zombie...and subsequently had falls which left him immobile & with bleeding in his cerebellum & temporal lobe in his brain.
    I am adding this to our story Karen, in the hope that other's with elderly (& all ages really) in the same situation, will INSIST on B12 serum & MMA testing, being aware that if the patient is taking folic acid & Vit B supplements it could mask the deficiency.
    Among the most common psychiatric symptoms seen in people with B12 deficiency are the following:
    - confusion
    - memory loss
    - depression
    - suidical ideations
    - mania
    - anxiety
    - paranoia
    - irritability
    - apathy
    - personality changes
    - inappropriate sexual behaviour
    - delusions
    - hallucinations
    - violent/agressive behaviour
    - schizophrenic symptoms
    - sleep disturbances
    - insomnia
    - changes in taste, smell, vision and sensory/motor function that can be mistaken for psychiatric problems.

    From this book I can see that anywone with digestive issues, where they may have leaky gut,or any other dysfunction which prevents absorption of sufficient vitamins from the food they eat,or symply not eating due to bereavement/depression could have B12 deficiency. The website can be viewed here:http://b12awareness.org/could-it-be-b12-an-epidemic-of-misdiagnoses/reader-reactions-could-it-be-b12/
    Also important to know is that this can run in families. I hope this will be of help to your readers.
    Keep up the good work Karen

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  16. I found your link by accident, researched the topic and then wrote the following four paragraphs.
    Your experience seems to be a shocking typical case history account of the unspeakable misery of most of our grandparents in the Culture Of Death and Loneliness society we live in today, and which seems to infect most Nursing Homes. The Health System in Australia and the UK is broken! Nursing Homes seem to be like medieval torture chambers mostly staffed by poor barbarians who have ‘killed’ their consciences. It’s all ‘out of sight, out of mind’ to the caring Australian community. Let’s fix this together! Politely and repeatedly insist that your politician fix this. Get the ‘oldies’ off toxic sedation, hydrate them, give them sun and exercise; make all management publicly accountable. Get an online petition going on Change.org.
    We must not wuss out on this. You know this is beyond bad. Is it criminal activity? One day you and I could be in there? Do something about this please, talk to others, and especially protect other ‘oldies’ before it’s too late. ‘Oldies’ deserve to live too, don’t they? And, we should also stop the government from shoving young people into nursing homes who don’t fit the broken health system criteria for hospitals.
    Euthanasia is not the answer, its bad karma. When an ‘oldies’ body is ready to die, mother nature will do the job, she does not need help to speed up the process by drugs and sicko staff.
    And we should realize, today’s technology is not wisdom; these oldies when undrugged have a lifetime of wisdom and experience to learn from. Listen to an undrugged intelligent oldie talk about life, it can be really enlightening. Many of them can be needed role models for us younger people. Thanks for reading this.
    Simone.

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  17. I frequent Parklands and found a man on the floor crying for help to pick him up. When I went to help him the nurse yelled at both of us and said to me "He does it for attention!"
    No matter what this man deserved better respect from the staff. Why was he doing it for attention?
    I was really worried to leave my friend there at Parklands.

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  18. I frequent Parklands and encountered a man on the floor crying for help to pick him up.He hit the floor really hard.
    I helped the man up and a nurse came and screamed at him!
    She said to me that he did it for attention. To be honest I couldn't give a rat's if he was doing it for attention, he deserved help and respect from the staff member. I made a complaint to the administrator yet in my heart I know it wasn't followed up.

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