Rest Home Failures: Neglect & Resident Safety Concerns
- A Geraldine rest home, McKenzie Healthcare Limited, is under fire after a Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) report revealed significant failures in its care of three female residents.
- F, detailed instances of residents being left in faeces or soiled beds, even during COVID-19 isolation.One of the women later died while still isolated.
- A, a 67-year-old with multiple health issues, experienced a lack of personal space, inadequate care, and social isolation. Mrs.
A new report slams Geraldine rest home McKenzie Healthcare over shocking neglect, revealing serious aged care concerns and failures in resident care. Teh Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) found three women suffered from a lack of basic support between 2020 and 2022, including being left in soiled conditions, with one resident later dying while isolated. The inquiry highlights a systemic failure, inadequate organizational systems, and the impact of high staff turnover. News Directory 3 reports on the rest home’s acknowledgement of the findings and promises to improve. Discover what’s next for the residents and what steps the rest home plans to take.
Geraldine Rest Home Faces Scrutiny After Damning Report on Aged Care Concerns
Updated May 26, 2025
A Geraldine rest home, McKenzie Healthcare Limited, is under fire after a Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) report revealed significant failures in its care of three female residents. The inquiry, prompted by separate complaints spanning 2020 to 2022, uncovered instances of neglect and inadequate support.
The report, which referred to the residents as Mrs. A, Mrs. E, and Mrs. F, detailed instances of residents being left in faeces or soiled beds, even during COVID-19 isolation.One of the women later died while still isolated. The HDC determined that McKenzie Healthcare breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights for all three cases, raising serious aged care concerns.
Mrs. A, a 67-year-old with multiple health issues, experienced a lack of personal space, inadequate care, and social isolation. Mrs. E’s daughter reported a lack of support for hydration, nourishment, and hygiene during her mother’s COVID-19 isolation. The daughter of Mrs.F raised concerns about delayed responses to call bells and insufficient assistance with toileting.
The HDC investigation highlighted a high staff turnover between 2021 and 2022, including five general managers. The current general manager reportedly lacked prior experience with New Zealand’s aged-care systems and did not receive formal orientation.
Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper stated that ”McKenzie Healthcare did not provide a reasonable standard of care for the three consumers,” citing “a system-level failure” with “a consistent pattern of poor care,” inadequate organizational systems, and a lack of robust leadership.
According to the report, Mrs. A was sometimes left in her chair or bed covered in faeces, leading to infections and isolation. Mrs. E was found “curled up in a soiled bed with matted hair” during her COVID-19 isolation, with her family reporting a lack of attention from staff. Mrs.F’s daughter reported call bells going unanswered for up to 1.5 hours.
Clinical General Manager Jo Fenton said in a statement that McKenzie Healthcare acknowledges and accepts the report’s findings. “Since then, we have been working diligently to address the issues raised and to improve the quality and consistency of our service delivery,” Fenton said.
What’s next
The commissioner has issued several recommendations to McKenzie Healthcare, including written apologies to the women and their families, staff education, updates to systems and processes, and a review of call-bell response times. The rest home is also encouraged to seek support from health experts to strengthen its clinical practice standards and improve resident care.