The daughter of an elderly man living at an aged care facility in South Australia placed a hidden camera in his bedroom after becoming suspicious of the level of care he was receiving by staff.
Noleen Hausler was horrified to discover her 89-year-old father Clarence, who suffered with dementia, had been physically assaulted and violently abused by a carer at Adelaide’s Mitcham Residential Care Facility, one of Australia’s biggest aged care providers, Daily Mail Australia reports.
WATCH the distressing footage here:
The disturbing video shows health care assistant Corey Lucas aggressively grabbing Mr Hausler’s face and arms, holding a tissue over his mouth and twisting his nose whilst feeding him.
Noleen Hausler filmed the shocking scenes in September 2015 while Clarence was living at the nursing home, operated by Japara Healthcare.
Ms Hausler, a nurse, brought the CCTV evidence to police and Lucas was jailed for aggravated assault.
Mr Hausler was also assaulted by a healthcare agency staff member.
He spent a total 13 years at Mitcham Residential Care Facility.
Clarence sadly passed away in January 2017, but Ms Hausler kept his memory alive by sharing the story at the Aged Care Royal Commission in Perth on Monday.
“Being confronted with the visual images, I went into a state of shock and total concern for my father.
“My heart was racing…my hands were shaking,” she told the commission.
“I felt for dad in the fact that I didn’t protect him sufficiently.”
She said while some employees were compassionate and dedicated to elder care, Japara operated with a “profit-driven attitude” and claimed her father’s quality of life suffered because of management culture.
Ms Hausler called for CCTV to be installed in bedrooms at aged care homes across Australia, telling reporters outside the commission it was a “no brainer” to prevent abuse like her father’s horrific suffocation happening again.
“I believe extremely vulnerable loved ones in care, who mirror my father’s diminished capacity to speak or defend themselves, deserve additional protection in their private rooms,” she said.
In June 2016, Corey Lucas pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.
He served just three weeks behind bars.
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