Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Lyndoch Living has rejected claims that it permitted two, non-essential workers from Melbourne into its premises late last month.

Upper House South-West MP Bev McArthur questioned Lyndoch about concerns raised in late July that the two workers from Melbourne were allowed into the residential area of Swinton Wing, despite Melbourne being in lockdown.

In reply to Ms McArthur, Lyndoch Living CEO Doreen Power said that the two people were contractors and were not from Melbourne, or the other lockdown hotspot of Mitchell Shire.

Ms Power did not reveal the purpose of their visit, Ms McArthur said.

I stand by my original story that the two people involved were non-essential workers and that they had both travelled from Melbourne.

The definition of a non-essential worker for aged care at this time has been set by the state Dept of Health and Human Services*.

Ms McArthur said the community’s extra concern around aged care facilities was understandable.

“The community’s heightened concern about care standards at this time is entirely appropriate, and I was happy to raise the matter with the Lyndoch Living CEO and with the organisation’s board members,” she said.

“In my view it is inconceivable that anything but the most essential visits could be permitted at this time.”

Lyndoch Living, like other aged care homes in south-west Victoria, has had a screening process in place for all visitors and workers, including a temperature check, evidence of a flu shot, and no sign of flu-like symptoms.

Anybody who had been in Melbourne in the 14 days prior to their visit was not allowed entry.

Lyndoch Living has since moved to full lockdown as of last Monday, due to the number of Covid-19 cases in the Warrnambool community.

Readers of The Terrier have been in contact again, however, to express concern at painters being permitted into the complex to put the final touches on the $11 million Swinton Wing extension.

Ms Power last week gave an interview to Denis Napthine on 3YB, during which she said the extension was due to have residents moving in by today (August 20).

I don’t know if that deadline has since changed.

In the same interview, Ms Power said the new Swinton Wing was part of a plan to give every Lyndoch resident a view of the Hopkins River.

The top level of the extension, however, has a frosted glass balcony, which has again prompted comments and questions to this site from readers.

“I always say to people, ‘you know, I think I have got the best real estate in Warrnambool,'” Ms Power said during her 3YB interview.

I would have to dispute that.

Lyndoch Living, owned by the community, has “the best real estate in Warrnambool”, and we hope it is never for sale.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

It’s two weeks tomorrow since Lyndoch Living went into lockdown in the face of the Covid-19 virus.

At the same time, as we know, Victoria has strict rules regarding leaving home, travelling or spending time with others, with a bottom line that if it’s not essential, don’t do it.

But where has the Lyndoch CEO, Doreen Power, been these past two weekends since the lockdown began?

Not in Warrnambool, but – according to sources – travelling back to Melbourne, which is where Ms Power has her family home.

This came as a shock to me: that the CEO was not here, seven days a week, standing side-by-side with the staff as they faced a health challenge that could devastate a nursing home if it took hold.

Why, as their leader, would you not be here? If there is a logical explanation, we should be able to hear it.

It’s well known in certain circles that Ms Power travels home most weekends – usually leaving Friday afternoon and returning Monday morning – having never relocated her family to Warrnambool as she planned to do, according to a local newspaper report, after becoming CEO in 2015.

In normal times, we might shrug our shoulders and say “who cares?”

But these are far from normal times.

Lyndoch Living is an aged care facility in full lockdown and Ms Power is the CEO of this facility.

Is travelling anywhere out of Warrnambool right now and then returning to Lyndoch the best thing to be doing? Is it essential?

Does the board know about this and does it accept it as being okay?

This is why CEO’s are paid the big dollars, because the expectations on their time are so much greater and especially so during a crisis.

I have checked the fine print for the Victorian travel restrictions and people who have two dwellings can travel between them (such as a parent who works in the city, but commutes home at weekends), but the overarching message is to do so only if absolutely necessary.

Lyndoch Living says as much on its own website: it tells us there are only four reasons for us to be leaving home – food, work, exercise and medical reasons.

We know the mantra and we are all doing our bit, despite all of us missing family and friends and wishing we could just jump in the car and drive.

We can’t.

But the CEO of Lyndoch can, even with Lyndoch in lockdown, and my question is why?

 

I put three questions about this to the CEO and the board chair Kerry Nelson this morning. I have not yet had a reply and will run it in full if I do, although I suspect the questions, as in the past, will be met with silence.

Speaking of silence, it’s also a fortnight since the Lyndoch Living board met to talk, among other things, about how to respond to explosive allegations against the CEO that were contained in a confidential staff survey.

We have heard nothing official since.

This is despite South West MP Roma Britnell saying that the allegations and concerns in the survey mirrored those from people who had contacted her directly over the past months.

And it’s despite the last two places where Ms Power worked as a CEO before being hired by Lyndoch Living – Seymour Health and Plenty Valley Health – both reporting low staff morale during her tenure: that is on the public record.

And yet the Lyndoch board has done nothing and continues to do nothing.

Maybe they just don’t believe it.

Or maybe Lyndoch has seen so many staff leave over the past five years that they no longer care whether good, hard-working people stay, or they leave because they have had enough or felt they had no choice.

That must be terrific for staff morale.

And yet the Lyndoch staff, all of them, are now rolling up their sleeves, battening down the hatches and devoting themselves to caring and protecting the frail and infirm residents against one of the greatest health challenges of our time in the Covid-19 virus.

The staff continue to show their professionalism and concern: they continue to show up because they care – first and foremost – about the residents who have perhaps never been more vulnerable.

For this, I send gratitude and thanks to all of the Lyndoch staff and I know you do too.

I am suspending the Tip Jar for the time being and encouraging readers to make a donation to Warrnambool Food Share which you can do below.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Let’s get straight to it. Lyndoch Living is a registered charity that has no right to spend more than $150,000* sponsoring Warrnambool’s Grand Annual steeplechase.

In fact, this immoral deal between our community-owned aged care home and the Warrnambool Racing Club makes a lie of an important promise made by Lyndoch to us 10 years ago.

Let me explain.

Contrary to recent reports, there is no “commercial arm” of Lyndoch that will provide private money for Lyndoch to sponsor the Grand Annual Steeplechase for another three years, having already sponsored it for three.

The race is being sponsored by Waterfront Living, which are the up-market retirement apartments built by Lyndoch near the Hopkins River bridge and which first went on sale in 2014.

Waterfront Living was built by Lyndoch using public money, is still managed by Lyndoch, and remains a full subsidiary of Lyndoch – the board and CEO who look after Lyndoch are also in charge of Waterfront Living.

Waterfront is not some sort of separate, private entity that gets to spend its money wherever it likes. It is a part of Lyndoch, which is a charity.

And here comes the crunch.

Why did Lyndoch build these apartments? To make money to put back into Lyndoch.

Former Lyndoch CEO Rhys Boyle, who retired in 2015, made this very promise to the community when the apartments were built.

This is what he said at the time:

“Every cent made by this project will go back into our business to keep it operational.”

Every cent.

And then this:

“This development isn’t about making profit for profit’s sake. Lyndoch as an organisation can’t be benevolent to our residents if we’re not making enough money to put back into the business.”

 

I added the bold type, because I need to shout these words from the page.

We are being duped.

We now have clear proof – from the very top of Lyndoch – that the money coming in to Lyndoch from the apartment sales was never intended to go toward a horse race.

It was to go toward caring for the residents.

There is no possible justification for such a sponsorship deal, especially when Lyndoch is operating at a loss, which it has done for four of the past five years.

Any money from Waterfront – every cent – is to go back into Lyndoch so the hard-working staff can provide the best care to residents, including things like new, comfortable chairs, quality food, good coffee and yes, a steady supply of sheets, towels and face-washers.

I, for one, have had enough of the spin and the failure of the board to scrutinise every inch of Lyndoch’s spending on our behalf.

The board, if it needs reminding, is there to represent the community who still own Lyndoch, just as we have for more than 60 years.

The board is our voice and they are letting us down.

If there is one thing about our community, perhaps because we are surrounded by dairy farms, it’s that we can smell the scent of bullshite and we know when things are not right.

Sponsoring a horse race with Lyndoch money is not right.

As the ultimate owners of Lyndoch, it is time for the community to speak up on behalf of those who can’t, because if we don’t, we are letting down our loved ones in Lyndoch and we are letting down all of the residents and their families.

You can contact the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, the Hon Luke Donnellan, here: luke.donnellan@parliament.vic.gov.au

You can contact the Lyndoch chair, Kerry Nelson, here: knelson@mpower.org.au

And you can contact the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission here: https://www.acnc.gov.au/raise-concern

I wish I could say this was the end of the Lyndoch stories, but there is still a long way to go before everything is out on the table.

More soon.

* the cost of the sponsorship has never been declared by Lyndoch, but is believed to be around $80,000-$100,000 for each three-year sponsorship.

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Carol Altmann – The Terrier

With aged care under the pump, it’s hard to believe Lyndoch Living spends tens of thousands of dollars sponsoring the Grand Annual Steeplechase and hiring a marquee at the Warrnambool May Races.

Details of the deal are not public, but it means potentially around $160,000 – if not more – will have been spent on supporting gambling via race sponsorship and corporate hospitality for selected Lyndoch staff, guests and residents.

When did supporting gambling become a core value of Lyndoch aged care, which is a registered charity and a public benevolent institution?

Just as with Lyndoch’s plan to build a multi-million-dollar medical centre, the appropriateness of this deal is also the subject of complaints to the Australian Charities and Investment Commission, which will make an assessment.

The close ties between Lyndoch and the Warrnambool Racing Club also raise potential conflicts of interest, which I will get to in a moment.

First, however, it has emerged that while members of Lyndoch’s hierarchy were enjoying the May Races this year, life was less glamorous back at Lyndoch itself.

The daughter of one resident was, at that time, spending each day in Lyndoch to watch her Mum because she had taken to falls and there was not, allegedly, enough staff to keep an eye on her.

To protect the privacy of the resident, I am not revealing this woman’s identity, but I have spoken with her several times and she is a highly credible source.

The woman in question took a week off work to spend seven days straight, from 7am in the morning until 10pm at night, in her mother’s room at Lyndoch because, she told me, she could see the staff were “literally running” to keep up.

Many staff, she says, were not able to take their breaks.

The situation was compounded by the wing being in lockdown due to an outbreak of influenza, which meant an additional burden on staff, such as feeding all residents in their rooms.

While the woman could see the staff were “doing their best”, it was clear that if she wanted a close eye kept on her Mum while the doctors sorted out her medications, it would be better to watch her herself.

Spending hours each day with her Mum was a commitment she was prepared to make, but then she scrolled through Facebook and saw Lyndoch posts of CEO Doreen Power and chair Kerry Nelson at the May Races.

Judging by the Facebook posts, some Lyndoch executives including Ms Power didn’t attend just one day of the carnival, but at least two.

The woman, to put it plainly, was absolutely furious.

She arranged to meet directly with Ms Power to express her concerns around Lyndoch’s handling of the lockdown, the alleged staff shortages and the impact on her mother’s care, but, she says, left that meeting far from satisfied with the CEO’s alleged reactions and responses.

The woman then contacted the chair, Ms Nelson, who she described as sympathetic, as was the Director of Nursing Julie Baillie, but she ultimately came away feeling “very concerned” by the overall response of Lyndoch to her complaints around duty of care.

I asked both Ms Power and Ms Nelson to comment on this woman’s story. Neither responded.

This snapshot of life inside Lyndoch during the 2019 May Race Week brings me back to the question of what is Lyndoch Living doing at the races in the first place?

Were staff on paid time or personal leave? Perhaps this is another example of Lyndoch’s new “core business” in action.

I do know that the relationship between the Warrnambool Racing Club and Lyndoch has become much closer since former club CEO Peter Downs joined the Lyndoch board in September 2016.

It was just four months’ after Mr Downs joined the board that Lyndoch announced its first, three-year sponsorship deal of the Grand Annual Steeplechase.

At the time, the board was at pains to point out that Mr Downs – who had a very clear conflict of interest – excused himself from anything to do with that decision.

This must mean the Lyndoch Living board came up with the whole idea itself.

Lyndoch has since re-signed its sponsorship deal for 2020 and Mr Downs, who now lives in Melbourne and works for Moonee Valley, remains on the Lyndoch board.

The links, however, don’t stop there.

As I wrote in April, Mr Downs and Ms Power also have shares in at least one racehorse, Strategic Force.

Any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest there?

Apparently not.

It is these tangled webs and inexplicable decisions that have so many of us outside of Lyndoch worrying about its direction and priorities.

And it is why we will keep asking questions of those in charge, no matter what hurdles are thrown in our way.

The final instalment – before I pick up the thread after Christmas – is coming soon.

In the meantime, I am starting a Foxy Fighting Fund. If you would like to make a small contribution, you can do so below.

The Foxy Fighting Fund

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

The time has come to use our voices, stand up for Lyndoch and show that Warrnambool will not tolerate bullies, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they promise.

I have now had contact with 33 people, including past and present Lyndoch workers, about the toxic culture and the warped priorities that have allegedly taken root within its walls. By the end of this weekend, I will have spoken to 36.

We can’t turn away and expect the victims of this culture to fix it; they can’t.

Instead we, as a community of terriers, need to get involved, to step up and hold the Lyndoch board to account for what is unfolding on its watch.

We did this with the Warrnambool City Council credit card scandal and we can do it again.

Some of Lyndoch’s most senior and experienced staff are among the 70 to 80 people who have left in the past two years and the resignations just keep coming, yet the board remains silent.

If this was happening in a primary school, or our hospital, or inside TAFE, it would be front page news.

So would some of the decisions around the use of public funds.

As it stands, Lyndoch Living – as a registered charity – has spent more than $100,000 on gambling via sponsoring a steeplechase and hosting a corporate marquee at the May races, and somehow this passes as core business.

We also know that Lyndoch plans to spend millions of dollars to build and run a new medical centre that nobody has asked for, while at the same time it doesn’t have enough experienced nurses to fill shifts, and basic furniture needs replacing.

Enough.

I am unable to look on while personal power trips are pursued at the expense of Lyndoch staff wellbeing and, ultimately, the care of our elderly.

So this is what we can do:

– contact the board: chair Kerry Nelson (knelson@mpower.org.au) or any of the other board members: Andrew Paton, Cr Sue Cassidy, Ron Page, Percy Eccles, Kane Grant, Peter Downs, Suzanne Coulson and Lorraine Mielnik via a letter to Lyndoch Living, 10 Hopkins Rd, Warrnambool.

– ask the board about staff morale, staff resignations and Lyndoch’s core priorities;

– contact our local MP Roma Britnell (roma.britnell@parliament.vic.gov.au) and ask her to investigate, just as her Liberal colleague Cindy McLeish did in response to the troubles at Seymour Health;

– write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper which, unfortunately, no longer does investigative journalism;

– most importantly, become a member of Lyndoch: it’s free to apply, can be done by filling out a simple form, and means you can have a say on where Lyndoch is heading and who is in charge.

 

At the moment, Lyndoch has very few members, including the nine people on the board, two life members (Ron Patterson, David Atkinson), the CEO Doreen Power, and four senior staff.

It’s a tight little shop.

Under the new rules of Lyndoch (last year it changed from an association to a company limited by guarantee), these members have significant powers, including standing for the board, voting for the board, and being involved in the AGM.

In fact, unless you are a member, Lyndoch has no obligation to even tell you when the AGM will be held.

This is what happened last October when, for the first time, the Lyndoch AGM was not advertised, nor were the board vacancies.

But here’s the rub: the board gets to decide who can become a member of Lyndoch, so even if you apply, you may not be accepted.

It’s open to all sorts of manipulation and perhaps explains why the current board is such a curious mix.

There are no GPs on the board. There is no lawyer.

But there is the former CEO of the Warrnambool Racing Club, Mr Downs, who now lives in Melbourne and works for Moonee Valley: if that’s not a massive conflict of interest between the board and Lyndoch’s support for racing, Barry the Bullshite Detector and I will run three times around the racecourse.

(Actually, Barry, we will need to do four laps, because Ms Power and Mr Downs also have shares in a racehorse.)

The Lyndoch company secretary – a former PA to Ms Power – also has no accounting or legal qualifications, despite now monitoring a multi-million-dollar organisation.

From all the evidence, none of these people in charge are asking the hard questions about Lyndoch’s operations, or none are asking them publicly.

Cr Cassidy, for example, has gone from being a power house to a mouse. The bold woman who stood up and exposed the games behind the council mayoral race has nothing to say about Lyndoch. She won’t return my calls.

Chair Kerry Nelson? Not a word.

They are supposed to be our eyes and ears, yet all we have is silence.

To me, the entire Lyndoch board and senior executive are accountable for the distress of every single Lyndoch person who is suffering or has suffered.

So I am going to keep exposing what I know, and I am going to also apply to become a member of Lyndoch, although I doubt I will be accepted, even though my mother was in Lyndoch for 10 years, and my late Dad, as a bricklayer, helped build some of it.

Warrnambool people started Lyndoch, we still own it, and we all have a stake in caring for its residents, its staff and its future.

What started as an important story for me is now a campaign – unashamedly – to restore a bold community voice inside Lyndoch and to stand up for those who need us to be strong.

On we go.

You can find the Lyndoch membership form here and its new constitution here.

Next: digging into the multi-million-dollar medical clinic.

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