AN ADELAIDE woman who was left “horrified” after seeing secretly recorded footage of her bed-ridden father being abused in a nursing home, is calling for surveillance cameras to be allowed in private rooms of aged care homes.
Noleen Hausler described the moment she saw the footage – which appears to show carer Corey Lyle Lucas attempting to suffocate 89-year-old Clarence Hausler – as “absolutely horrendous”.
Ms Hausler installed a tiny spy camera in her father’s room at Mitcham Residential Care Facility last September after she became suspicious about bruises on his face.
In the video, 29-year-old Mr Lucas appears to violently force-feed Mr Hausler, who has end-stage dementia and can’t walk or talk, pin his arms down and attempt to suffocate him with a large napkin.
But after lifting the lid on this attack, Ms Hausler said she was accused by the facility of “breaching the Privacy Act and residential age care providers’ policies where video cameras are prohibited in private rooms”.
The abuse recorded eventually led to Mr Lucas’s conviction of aggravated assault this year and was also shown on ABC TV’s 7.30 Report.
In a statement, Mitcham Residential Care Facility apologised for sending a letter to Ms Hausler asking her to stop filming.
Now Ms Hausler said more needs to be done “to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again”.
She has launched a petition on change.org calling for regulatory changes to allow advocates or relatives of aged care residents to install surveillance cameras, at their discretion, in the private rooms of their elderly or vulnerable loved ones.
The petition, which is lobbying independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon and the Australian Human Rights Commissioner, has already gained more than 42,000 signatures.
The petition numbers and comments so far have been presented to SA Health and Ageing Minister Stephen Wade to support Ms Hausler’s conversation and campaign for reform.
Ms Hausler said Deputy Premier John Rau and Senator Xenophon had not been in touch.
“This has opened up quite a hot potato,” said Ms Hausler, who is calling for more transparency in aged care facilities.
“So many people have been in the same situation as me and have tried to speak out, but have had to give up.
“But I didn’t give up... I suspected something, but there was no way I expected to see this man doing what he did. It horrifies me to the core. Video surveillance is the only means to stop this abhorrent behaviour.”
The Aged Care Complaints Commission is investigating the case.
Petition welcome but CCTV gives no guarantees: COTA SA
Council on the Ageing South Australia chief executive Jane Mussared has welcomed Ms Hausler’s call for surveillance in aged care homes but warned it is “not a silver bullet”.
“Ms Hausler led the way with her courage and we applaud her for bringing this important issue to light so it can continue to be discussed and not swept under the carpet,” Ms Mussared said.
“There are CCTV possibilities and this should be on the table. If a person wants surveillance in their room they should be able to ask for it. But CCTV doesn’t give any guarantee and it is imperative that this doesn’t substitute other areas of good practice.”
SA Aged Rights Advocacy Service chief executive Carolanne Barkla said the case raised a number of issues, including the right to have a camera in place and the need for mandatory elder abuse recognition training for all residential aged care facility staff.
She said managers also needed to be trained on how to respond to complaints or concerns raised by families.
“We will continue to work with the Hausler family to resolve care issues,” Ms Barkla said.
“It is important to acknowledge that there are many diligent and caring staff of residential aged care facilities who support older people every day.”
SA Premier Jay Wetherill told the ABC’s PM program the vision was a “disgrace” and vowing to discuss the issue around CCTV regulations with the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, SA Liberal opposition leader Steven Marshall said clarification was needed regarding the state’s strict covert surveillance laws.
He said he would seek legislation to be introduced into the parliament “as soon as possible” to enable the surveillance of people in aged care facilities with the consent of the resident and their family.
Aged Care Industry Association Paul Carberry told the ABC’s PM he was open to the idea of CCTV but warned the rights of staff had to be considered.
