Media Statement - 23rd August 2007
The failure of the Government to act decisively on Belvedere Park Nursing Home until now means Minister Pyne has a lot of questions to answer.
The Government has known since at least 2000 that Mr Graeme Menere had an appalling record of aged care provision.
The Government has also known that Mr Menere had a criminal conviction for stalking and therefore would be a disqualified individual since at least 2000.
The questions Minister Pyne needs to answer are:
- How many spot checks has Belvedere had since it was sanctioned three times in 2000?
- What measures did the Government take to ensure Mr Graeme Menere, a disqualified individual, was not involved in the day-to-day running of Belvedere?
- What are the Government's suspicions that Mr Menere has been involved in the day-to-day running of the home?
- How many complaints has the Government received about the home, when were they, and what did the Government do about them?
- When are the sanction and accreditation reports on the home going to be made public?
- When did Saitta, the company that owns Belvedere, receive its Approved Provider status?
- Will Minister Pyne rule out Mr Graeme Menere operating nursing homes in the future?
"Minister Pyne must come clean immediately and explain what the Government been doing over the last seven years to protect the residents in this aged care facility," Senator McLucas said.
Kenilworth Nursing Home, once operated by Mr Graeme Menere, had its funding cut off by the Government in 2001 after it was sanctioned by DOHA five times in 2000. At the time it was reported the Federal Government identified Kenilworth as the worst aged care facility in the country.
In 2000 Belvedere Park Nursing Home was also sanctioned three times in for substandard care and putting residents at "serious risk".