NEWCASTLE Anglican Bishop Peter Stuart has asked staff to 'please pray about this situation' at Anglican Care Storm Village which has been sanctioned for putting residents' lives at "immediate and severe risk".
"Please pray about this situation - for those who have been adversely impacted, for the staff ensuring effective change, and for their families," the bishop says in a letter addressed to the Newcastle Anglican Community and sent to staff.
The bishop admitted in the letter that the Anglican Care has failed to deliver, saying: "We are all feeling this impact now."
He was "devastated" by what he read in documents he received from the Aged Care Safety and Quality Commission on January 27, he said.
Documents obtained by the Newcastle Herald reveal that the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has been in contact with Anglican Care from as early as the start of December following a "critical incident".
A meeting with Anglican Care was held on December 8 to discuss the incident, and staffing, and a "request for information" was sent to management the same day.
A follow-up meeting was held on January 12, followed by a site audit conducted over several days between January 17 and 24.
"The assessment team raised concerns on day one" of the site audit, the internal document says.
Information in relation to specific consumers and risks of concerns were shared with Anglican Care at the end of the site audit, at 4pm, on January 24.
According to current and former staff, the impacts have been felt for many months leading up to the sanction, and they made numerous attempts to escalate those issues with management, including during the early months of 2022.
They say their complaints - about a lack of clinical and wound care, and lack of pain relief - were raised at multiple senior staff meetings, to managers, deputy managers, and to head office.
"We tried," says one former staffer.
In response to questions from the Newcastle Herald, the bishop said he was made aware of staff shortages on November 30, and, together with Anglican Care leaders, met with Commission representatives on December 8 and January 12.
"I personally visited Storm Village on December 22 and engaged with a number of staff and residents," the bishop said. "The Commission's report made devastating reading and clearly indicated that further work needed to be done. Every level of the Anglican Care organisation, beginning with me, has been working consistently to improve the quality of care at Storm Village."
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