As part of the sanction the department has introduced a range of measures, including daily on-site visits by accreditation agency officials, the appointment of a specialist nurse adviser for the next six months, staff training in a range of clinical care and no Commonwealth funding for any new residents during the sanction period.

Glenwood Gardens manager Colin Francis said he was presented with the agency’s report around lunchtime Friday, and later that night was advised that the department would sanction the facility.

“We’ve just had to accept the report from the accreditation team. Two nurse advisers arrived over the weekend to share duties overseeing clinical care, there were also two department representatives here interviewing residents and their families, while a representative of the accreditation agency came (on Sunday) and will spend an hour or two each day going through the report,” he told the Examiner yesterday.

Mr Francis conceded that an inability to take new residents could impact on the financial security of the centre, “but we are extremely optimistic that we can respond to concerns and have the sanctions lifted soon, possibly in a fortnight”.

"I just want to reassure residents and relatives that no-one is at risk as far as we are aware,” he said.

Speaking after an emergency board meeting yesterday morning, Glenwood chairman Allan Coggan said the board continued to have confidence in Mr Francis, a former Glen Innes Municipal Council general manager who was appointed Glenwood’s manager in May 2005.

“Col has the full support of the board, and the people who are here,” he said.

Mr Coggan said all directors had been briefed about the issues.

“Each director now has all the information that has been put forward on the matter, and there will be several meetings of the board in the upcoming future,” he said.

Jill Pretty, NSW CEO of the industry peak body Aged and Community Services, also visited Glenwood at the weekend and claimed the assessor’s report appeared to by missing “some vital information”.

“We believe the assessors may have overlooked some documentation that may have made a difference to the outcome,” she said.

Asked to elaborate, she said her own review of paperwork showed that claims staff had not recognised or reported the declining state of health of one resident could not be substantiated “as I saw notes made by a registered nurse on a daily basis, and also written evidence from a palliative care nurse.”

Regarding claims of poor staffing levels, she said the fact that staff numbers had not been reduced despite vacant rooms suggested staffing levels were adequate.

“My experience is that sometimes there is more of a focus on documentation, rather than the outcomes to residents. There are some gaps in documentation at Glenwood and systems could be improved, but I believe there is supporting evidence that everything is being carried out properly,” she said.

Mrs Pretty said she believed a lot of the issues in the report could be rectified easily, “and that additional information supplied to the accreditation agency will allo for an appeal to be made to lift the sanctions”.

Currently, there are 12 nursing homes under sanction out of a total of nearly 3,000 aged care homes around Australia.

Staff shortage “painfully obvious”

CARING staff, but not enough of them - that’s the reaction to news of the sanction from two families who have had relatives in residence at Glenwood Gardens.

Former Glen Innes residents Christine and Paul McMahon of Tamworth said they had nothing but praise for the work of staff at Glenwood, where Mrs McMahon’s father Colin Knox was a resident until his death on September 8.

“We found the staff were very good. Dad deteriorated very quickly, but I think that was more the state of his health (than the care or treatment received),” Mrs McMahon said. “When I heard about (the sanctions) on Saturday I was a bit shocked. But then it could just be that while a job itself was done, the paperwork for it had not yet been completed with the assessors were doing their inspection.”

Mr McMahon agreed, but said it was “painfully obvious” the facility was short-staffed.

“They couldn’t do enough, but they were certainly glad to see any family members who could help with feeding,” he said. While he did not believe residents were suffering from lack of nutrition, “they may have one person feeding six people, but staff can’t do them all at once, especially when many have to be hand-fed,” he said.

Another relative of a resident, who declined to be named, contacted the Examiner to express concerns about care.

“It’s been gradually getting worse. There have been staff cutbacks over time, which affected the kitchen. The staff there are doing their best, it’s not their fault there aren’t enough of them, but I certainly think the care has got worse since my relative was admitted,” the woman said.