'They are babies'
Published:Tuesday | April 5, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Operations manager defends treatment of residents at Vineyard Town Golden Age Home
Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter
Hours after an emergency meeting of the 15-member board of The Golden Age Home yesterday, an impromptu visit to the institution revealed that at least one congenitally disabled female patient was still left half-naked on the institution's floor.
However, this time, the disabled resident, Sista - who was crying for her doll at one point during a Sunday Gleaner investigation last week - was on a mat. Another patient was seen lying at his usual spot on the corridor in his urine-soaked pants.
A day after a Sunday Gleaner exposé revealed telling details of neglect at the institution in Vineyard Town, Kingston, administration and staff were caught by surprise when The Gleaner visited the facility again.
After The Gleaner made its initial checks unannounced and exited the clusters to speak with some of the residents in the yard, workers came out, closed and padlocked the gates to two of the clusters - including Cluster D, which houses congenitally disabled residents and other patients.
for sista's good
When The Gleaner returned for an official tour led by Operations Manager Delfreda Cammock Thorpe, she had to instruct the workers to open the gate.
Cammock Thorpe, seeking to explain why Sista was left topless on the floor, claimed it was for the resident's own good.
"It's tidying time and the reason they are on the floor is for their own safety," she said.
"They will fall off the bed if you don't restrain them. They will be out here crawling all over the place because they are babies. They are adults, but they are babies, and they are not responsible for what they are doing," she added.
Cammock Thorpe also said the residents who were seen naked during the The Sunday Gleaner's investigations were patients referred to as "strippers".
"... As you turn your back they take off their clothes," she said, even while admitting that there are areas of the home's offering that require improvement.
"We could improve in some areas, but we give the best care we can and the best is good enough," said Cammock Thorpe.
Meanwhile, the operations manager welcomed an investigation ordered by the board, but said State Minister Robert Montague, who oversees local government affairs, needed to give the home additional staff members.
Montague had ordered the meeting of the board in the wake of the Sunday Gleaner publication.
Yesterday the board expressed "grave concerns' about the details published in The Sunday Gleaner after its two-day investigation, which included photographs and video footage. It also stated that it was moving swiftly to thoroughly investigate the matter and to take remedial actions, including the strengthening of the home's internal supervision and oversight, where necessary.
"In the interim, the board has appointed a six-member sub-committee, led by its chairman, Rion Hall, and Professor Denise Eldemire Shearer of the board of supervision, to immediately begin investigations to establish the veracity of the allegations," read a section of the release.
A report containing the sub-committee's findings and recommendations is to be submitted to Montague by Friday.
Meanwhile, Clifton Brown, president of the Jamaica Workers' Union, called for "an impartial and comprehensive enquiry so that the truth regarding resident care might become public knowledge".
Brown, who represents workers at the home, challenged the veracity of the details unearthed by the Sunday Gleaner stories. He, however, lamented that the staff-resident ratio was "woefully inadequate".
According to the trade unionist, the current resident population is about three workers to 71 residents, and the total resident population is approximately 431.
"It is interesting to note the report that only one nurse is assigned at nights to the entire institution and only one caregiver per cluster is assigned on the said shift," stated the union's release.
consider staffing needs
The People's National Party also called for a human resource probe at The Golden Age Home.
"I fully support the investigation but caution that an assessment of the staffing needs and availability must also be done to ensure that adequate staffing levels exist with the requisite skills," noted Maxine Henry-Wilson, member of parliament for the area where the home is located.
In a release issued yesterday, Henry-Wilson said while the allegations of abuse are serious and must be thoroughly investigated, it was important that there was no wholesale condemnation of the entire staff of the institution.
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