A story on the Radio NZ website, which does not mention which establishment was involved, but it’s a particular concern with Waikanae’s high elderly population.
After discovering her mother had lost two front teeth, a Wellington woman says she was shocked to learn rest homes aren’t required to provide oral care for their residents.
Caroline said she visited her elderly mother last week and found she had two missing front teeth which had gone unnoticed by staff.
She said her mother, who is in her late eighties, has dementia and can’t remember how she lost her teeth or when.
“Well I was just talking to her and I’d noticed a gap in her mouth and I thought ‘Well, that’s a bit odd’. And I knew she’d had a broken tooth before some years ago and I thought maybe it’s just broken off again. So I asked her to open her mouth and there was just a gap there,” Caroline said.
“So I toddled off to the nurses station and I said, ‘Oh, what’s this about mum’s got some broken teeth? What’s the story?’ And they kind of looked at me blankly and they obviously didn’t know anything.”
comment by Carol Sawyer
There are a lot of serious issues around rest home and private hospital elder care in New Zealand. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and corners get cut to save costs, staff are paid low wages, food is often shocking and full of starch and sugar (as this article says). The “cutting costs around food” issue actually seems to me to be one of the saddest aspects. Often all that really old people have to look forward to are their meals.
There is no excuse for this, as an unsubsidised room, even a shared room with a commode and a basin, in a private hospital costs a minimum of $1,100 per week. Our newer prisons have better facilities.