Maggots found in wound at aged care home

Annunziata Santoro's daughter has told a royal commission of maggots in her mother's foot wound.

A woman has told how maggots were found in a wound in her mother's heel shortly before her death which had been left untreated for months in a Melbourne aged care home.

Anamaria Ng wept while telling the Royal Commission into Aged Care about how horrified she was about had happened to her mother Annunziata Santoro.

The Assisi Centre nursing unit manager Jamuna Jacob had tried to stop her GP Eric Tay telling Ms Ng and other family members about the maggots, she said.

Dr Tay confirmed that on Wednesday.

Mrs Santoro, who had dementia, died only days later at the age of 94 in October 2018 with a bone infection in her heel contributing to her death, according to Dr Tay.

The wound was allowed to deteriorate for at least two months before the family or Dr Tay were told about it, the commission heard.

Assisi staff told Ms Ng and Dr Tay that Mrs Santoro's increasing agitation was a behavioural problem, that she was "not in much pain at all" and did not give her painkillers over three months as the wound became a bone infection.

That mistake led to Dr Tay prescribing anti-psychotic medicine she did not need.

It also led to Ms Ng and her two brothers paying extra for physiotherapy for their mother that included weight bearing exercises that would have added to her excruciating pain.

Her last days were spent in pain and heavily sedated, which also resulted in rapid weight loss that Assisi did not address, an emotional Ms Ng said.

Ms Jacob had made light of the maggots and blamed it on family members who had taken her on a day trip, she said.

"I was appalled that she was essentially not prepared to take responsibility for what happened," Ms Ng told the Royal Commission.

She relocated her mother to palliative care elsewhere but Mrs Santoro died within a couple of days.

"At this point my mother's management had been so poor, her pain management and her care and I had just completely lost faith," said Ms Ng.

"I just wanted her out of there.

"I believe would still be alive today if her pain and care had been properly managed."

She contacted the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner, also angry about repeated falls and another infection when staples were not removed after hip surgery.

The aged care commissioner made scathing findings of "significant gaps" in Mrs Santoro's care, including them not telling the family or doctor about the heel wound "until it was too late".

"It's really hard to imagine a more serious finding being made about an organisation that exists solely to provide care for elderly people isn't it?" Counsel assisting the commissioner Peter Rozen asked Assisi's chairman Don Smarrelli.

"Correct, it is," Mr Smarrelli replied.

The not for profit organisation was doing a "root cause analysis" to "ensure that this type of incident or any incident for that matter never occurs again", he said.

Assisi's CEO at the time - who cannot be named - was recently sacked, having been accused by Mr Smarrelli of withholding information and possibly misleading the royal commission.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency are investigating Ms Jacob and another unit manager, Anna Yow.

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Maggots found in wound at aged care home

The healthcare facility where a severely disabled woman gave birth may close after maggots were found on another resident

By Hollie Silverman and Chris Boyette

(CNN)The healthcare facility where a severely disabled Arizona woman delivered a baby after being raped by a staff member may have its licensed revoked by the health department after maggots were found on another resident. 

The Arizona Department of Health Services announced Friday that it has issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke the license of the Hacienda De Los Angeles' Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in Phoenix.

 

"Based on findings from a recent survery and an extremely disturbing incident involving inadequate patient care that was reported to and investigated by ADHS this week, the Department has determined strong and immediate further action is necessary to protect the Hacienda ICF-IID residents," the notice read. 

 

Hacienda HealthCare spokesman David Leibowitz told AZ Central that staff discovered a "small number of maggots" under a patient's bandage for a surgical incision. 

 

Leibowitz would not confirm those comments to CNN and the ADHS would not specify the nature of the "extremely disturbing incident" referenced in their notice.

 

The notice does not mean that Hacienda will immediately close and does not impact any other Hacienda facilities, according to a statement from ADHS. 

 

Instead, the notice will allow the health department to have increased oversight and accountability at the facility, the statement said. 

 

The facility came to an agreement with the ADHS last year to remain open after the agency ordered it to close. 

 

Nathan Sutherland was charged in the rape of a 

woman in a vegitative state that gave birth.

In December 2018, a severely disabled woman gave birth to a full-term baby after being raped by an employee of the facility. 

 

The woman had been a patient at Hacienda since 1992 after suffering significant intellectual disabilities as a result of childhood seizures, her family told CNN. 

 

A doctor who gave her a yearly checkup about 37 weeks before she gave birth wrote that there were no major changes in her health, according to medical records sent to the court. During an external exam in April 2018, a doctor noted her "firm belly."

 

Nathan Sutherland, a former nurse at the facility since 2011, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse in February after a DNA test confirmed he was the father of the child.

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The healthcare facility where a severely disabled woman gave birth may close after maggots were found on another resident

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Maggots found under patient's bandage in Arizona

Maggots found under patient's bandage in Arizona

(KNXV) - Phoenix -- Who is in charge at Hacienda HealthCare? It's the question on many people's mind after the healthcare facility is back in the spotlight after a new disturbing incident involving a patient.

A report that several maggots were found around the surgical incision of a 28-year-old male resident has sparked a new investigation and swift action by the Arizona Department of Health Services. On Friday, the department issued an "intent to revoke" Hacienda's state license that was recently issued to the facility.

The incident also has several Arizona lawmakers demanding answers and accountability. Hacienda is the same facility where a 29-year-old incapacitated woman was sexually assaulted last year. Police have arrested and charged Nathan Sutherland, a 36-year-old nurse, from the facility alleging he raped and impregnated the woman.

As Hacienda was making changes and trying to rebuild trust within the community, the new investigation has several lawmakers concerned and outraged.

State Senator Heather Carter co-sponsored Senate Bill 1211. The bill gives the state direct authority to go in and take action themselves, instead of just being an agent of the federal government.

Carter said she was "floored" when she heard about the incident involving the maggots.

"Absolutely floored. I have no words. It is unacceptable. We have to do something and that is what we're doing," said Carter.

Carter is also questioning who is really "calling the shots" at the facility.

"The oversight for this facility in terms of day to day operations - yes you have the staff - but ultimately the Board of Directors oversees it. All roads in both these cases lead straight to the board. All roads lead to the board," said Carter.

Carter said she echoes a statement made by Governor Doug Ducey in February, referring to the incident at Hacienda. In an interview with ABC15's news partner KTAR, Ducey said the system meant to protect vulnerable members in our community was not working.

"It's inherently broken and that's why I want to fire the senior management and remove the board. I think we've got good, hard-working employees in there that want to do the right thing, but this has just been terrible leadership, terrible management, and terrible oversight" said Ducey.

Since those strong words from the Governor, ABC15 has reported on several resignations and job terminations from Hacienda. From then CEO Bill Timmons, to chief operating officers, department directors, and several members of the non-profit organization's board of directors, some of them said they were stepping down because they felt "ineffective" as a board.

In an interview with ABC15, former board member Dr. Kevin Berger said he hoped other board members would follow suit and step down as well.

"Especially now with all the resignations, I think there is no other choice but to have everybody resign, to re-structure, and to start again. We have to hit a reset," said Berger.

A spokesman for Hacienda has confirmed that three original board members remain at Hacienda today.

Senator Carter is questioning why they are still there and why so many other seats remain empty months after the resignations of other board members.

"I think there's a tremendous concern with the board. The same board that was in place when the horrific rape of a vulnerable patient occurred is still in place now, when we have this second horrific situation. Something has got to be done," said Carter. "Right now there are so many vacancies on the board, I don't understand why they're not moving swiftly to fill those vacancies," she added.

Arizona State Senator Victoria Steele (D) from Tucson said she does not believe patients at Hacienda are safe.

"This is inexcusable, this is dangerous and we have to do something. It is our responsibility at the state level to do something," said Steele.

Governor Doug Ducey's office issued a statement Friday, saying in part: "The care and safety of patients is a top priority. Our state agencies, including the Department of Health Services, the Department of Economic Security, and AHCCCS, are on-site to investigate. We are getting all the facts on this deeply disturbing allegation and we will take appropriate action to ensure accountability and the highest level of care for patients."

ABC15 reached out to Hacienda officials to get answers on the vacant board positions, and to request interviews with current board members who remain. All of our requests have been denied. A spokesman said, "I will let you know if my client chooses to offer answers."

Carter says at the end of the day, no matter what happened at Hacienda, all responsibility for patient safety lies with these three board members who are still in charge of overseeing the facility.

"Something has got to be done to add people to the board to make sure there is proper oversight of the day-to-day quality measures that need to be in place for the facility to be functioning," said Carter.

She added that she would like to see patient safety advocates, family members with loved ones inside the facility, healthcare experts, and those with first-hand knowledge of patient care included in the new board to oversee Hacienda.

Many in the community have been asking why this facility remains open. State officials say the answer is complicated. Many of the patients housed there are some of the most vulnerable and "medically fragile" people in our community. Moving them would be very difficult because there are not many places that offer the kind of care that Hacienda is equipped to handle. However, they say patient safety will be their number one focus as they determine how to proceed in light of the new investigation.

Carter tells ABC15 that if there are any families who wish to remove their loved one from Hacienda, the state will provide the necessary support to make it happen.

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Maggots found under patient's bandage in Arizona