Editorial: Dignity at the end?

OPINION: Again, the nation has been shocked by allegations of inhumane behaviour in a rest home.

Again, our notions of being a civilised society have been challenged. This week's storm involves pictures of a woman, aged 103, tied to her bed with a sheet in a rest home in Palmerston North. To its credit, the MidCentral District Health Board has acted swiftly on receiving a complaint, closing the home, shredding its funding contract with the owners of the 25-bed establishment and initiating an inquiry into another home the same couple operate. The chief executive of the Aged Care Association Martin Taylor questions the haste with which the board acted and wants an independent inquiry into the matter. However, the closure was ordered after a snap audit found a range of problems around hygiene and residents' safety, not simply because of a whistleblower's cellphone pictures.

However disruptive the closure might have been to the residents forced elsewhere, the board has a duty of care. We must be able to rely on the authorities to act decisively to protect the health and safety of vulnerable people. As often happens when such stories break, other worrying issues around the care of the elderly have since been highlighted. The Health and Disability Commissioner's office reports an increase in the number of complaints, while an anonymous Christchurch caregiver has raised concerns about the quantity of "zombie pills" being issued in order to keep difficult patients under control. Everyone should be able to see out their days in dignity.

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