Carol Altmann – The Terrier

A grassroots action group has formed to challenge Lyndoch Living over plans to build a $22m medical clinic that some fear may send it broke.

I have written dozens of stories these past 18 months about concerns around Lyndoch Living and every time there is the same response from readers: what can we do?

Well here is the answer – you can support this action group.

The group – “Keep Lyndoch living” (follow them on their new Facebook page here) – is being led by local people who are prepared to speak up on behalf of the community, and you can stand with them.

The co-chairs are heavy hitters in Professor James Dunbar, who has had a long and distinguished career as a health researcher in Australia and overseas. He moved to south-west Victoria from the UK to become the first Director of the Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health.

Prof Dunbar taught Clinical Governance and Risk Management for Flinders University in Adelaide, Singapore and China, and is an Honorary Professor with Deakin University.

The other co-chair is Jim Burke, a former naval officer and a senior investigator for the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security until his retirement in 2009.

They are the public face of what they hope will be a united community voice seeking answers from Lyndoch on two broad questions:

how is the medical clinic being financed?

how will it benefit the residents of Lyndoch?

Last month, Lyndoch’s former Acting Chief Financial Officer Allan Conway revealed that, on the information available to him, he had formally advised Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power that he didn’t support the medical centre as proposed.

Mr Conway added that, as a private citizen, he also held fears for the viability of Lyndoch.

Despite this fire alarm from a former, well-respected CFO, the public response from the Lyndoch board has been silence.

In a media release today, Prof Dunbar said the community group had to move quickly, as construction was due to start on the clinic any day.

“If the medical centre resulted in serious financial issues for Lyndoch, the viability of Lyndoch could be threatened,” he said.

“As the community has funded and built Lyndoch over the past 70 years, it is imperative that the medical centre is based on a sound business plan and full transparency.”

Mr Burke said the group will seek a meeting with Lyndoch board.

In the interim, the group has contacted State Minister of Ageing Luke Donnellen, Federal Member Dan Tehan and State MPs Roma Britnell, Bev McArthur and Andy Meddick, to raise the following, specific concerns:

i. The cost of the centre;

ii. How the centre is to be funded;

iii. How loans and interest are to be repaid.  Borrowing would be at the current low interest rates, but this cannot be guaranteed in the future;

iv. Whether proper business modelling has been done for the clinic (including full business and operational plans), together with an associated risk management plan;

v. Details of prospective tenants.  Whilst an unknown number of GPs from The Health Spot and Warrnambool Medical Clinic have been secured, an advertisement in the Warrnambool Standard on 1 May, 2021 raises concerns about whether an adequate number of tenants in total can be secured where there are general GP shortages in rural areas;

vi. The effect of the Royal Commission into Aged Care and whether this could cause other financial pressures on Lyndoch.

To me, the launch of this group is significant, as I have learned that it’s incredibly difficult for people in Warrnambool to publicly question the decisions of those in authority.

People, I have learned, are often fearful to speak up individually.

Strength, however, lies in numbers and a unified voice.

Whether this group succeeds as a unified voice now hinges on how many people are prepared to stand alongside them as they speak up on behalf of the community.

If you want to stand with them, you can like/share/follow the “Keep Lyndoch living” Facebook page, which will provide updates to the community on its progress.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I have learned that two staff – including a senior staff member – within the finance area of Lyndoch Living resigned today.

Another two resigned earlier this month.

In light of the legal precautions I must operate under when reporting on Lyndoch Living, you can make of that what you will.

But these resignations follow the former Acting Chief Financial Officer Allan Conway notifying the Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power of his serious concerns regarding the financial viability of a proposed $22 million medical clinic.

Mr Conway, who finished his 12-month contract in March, last night went public with those concerns.

Based on the information available to him, he does not support the medical clinic as proposed.

As a citizen, he holds fears for the future of Lyndoch Living.

And now the resignations from the inside keep coming.

When does this become a full blown crisis?

We have heard nothing from the board, who are chosen to represent the community that owns Lyndoch Living.

We have heard nothing from the chair, hairdresser and former Warrnambool City Councillor, Sue Cassidy.

We have heard nothing from the vice chair, the CEO of MPower Kerry Nelson.

We have heard nothing from the treasurer, Sinclair and Wilson accountant Kane Grant, who – surely – must be taking another, closer look at the numbers.

And we have heard nothing from any of the remaining five board members: Prof Rob Wallis, Andrew Paton, Ron Page, Suzanne Coulson and Lorraine Mielnik.

We have no independent members of Lyndoch who can speak on our behalf, as nobody outside of the board or Lyndoch has been accepted as a member in the past 18 months, and that includes our now Mayor Vicki Jellie AM.

In summary, the community has lost control of Lyndoch Living by stealth, aided and abetted by those who have blocked any involvement at every turn.

The consequences of that exclusion and obsequiousness are now, I fear, becoming clear.

I keep asking the questions in the public interest and below are the ones I sent last Friday lunchtime so the Lyndoch CEO and board knew what was going to be published Sunday night and had every opportunity to respond.

They have chosen not to.

In the face of this silence, I can only keep raising the alarm and hope that the community decides it has had enough and a group of community representatives demand the board hold an emergency meeting, with a full report back to the community they serve.

Email Friday 16 April, 1.25pm:

Dear Lyndoch Media Unit, Ms Power and board members,

I am writing to offer the opportunity for comment on the following matters for a piece I am preparing to publish this Sunday night.

I have received confirmation that the immediate former Chief Financial Officer of Lyndoch Living, Allan Conway, does not support the construction of the proposed Medical Clinic at Lyndoch Living and that Mr Conway has expressed his concerns directly to the CEO.

Further, in his capacity as a private resident of Warrnambool, Mr Conway has also expressed a broader concern over Lyndoch’s future viability.

Given the seriousness of a CFO raising such concerns and the governance responsibilities of Lyndoch Living, my questions to the CEO, to the board chair and to the board treasurer are as follows:

1. Has the CEO notified the board of Mr Conway’s concerns in writing?

2. Has the CEO notified the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria of Mr Conway’s concerns in writing?

3. Has Mr Conway been contacted by the CEO and the board in response to his concerns and to discuss them further?

4. What action/s does the CEO and board intend to take in response to Mr Conway’s concerns?

5. Given the limited surplus funds of Lyndoch Living, can the board outline where the funding is coming from for the $22 million Medical Clinic project?

6. Is the board comfortable with the level of risk associated with the Medical Clinic project?

7. Has a complete business plan been prepared and presented to the board for the Medical Clinic project?

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

The former Acting Chief Financial Officer of Lyndoch Living has gone public with serious concerns over its proposed $22 million medical clinic and broader concerns about Lyndoch’s viability.

Allan Conway, who was acting CFO from March last year until last month, has confirmed he formally raised a number of serious concerns about the medical clinic project to Lyndoch Chief Executive Officer Doreen Power in the final days of his contract.

He has heard nothing since.

It’s of enormous public interest when Lyndoch’s most senior finance officer waves a red flag about a major project that is due to start any day and which could potentially cripple Lyndoch.

It’s not known, however, if Ms Power has passed Mr Conway’s concerns in full to the board, or how the board has responded.

I contacted Mr Conway after hearing that he had raised alarm bells internally about the proposed medical clinic and asked that, if true, whether he could detail these same, specific concerns publicly.

A very cautious (but brave) Mr Conway was able to say the following:

He confirmed that, “from the information available to him, he had formally advised Lyndoch CEO Ms Power that he did not support the construction of the new medical centre as currently proposed”.

Mr Conway has had no contact from Ms Power or the board since his contract was completed in early March.

In his position as a former Acting CFO, Mr Conway did not wish to comment further.

But as a long-term local resident, a former corporate services manager and local business owner, he commented that he was “concerned for Lyndoch’s future viability”.

I contacted Ms Power, Lyndoch Living chair Sue Cassidy, vice-chair Kerry Nelson, Treasurer Kane Grant and all other board members last Friday with a number of questions in response to the red flags raised by Mr Conway, but have received no reply.

Those of you who have followed The Terrier’s reporting on Lyndoch Living will know that it is litigious and we all have to pick our way very carefully.

At the same time, Mr Conway’s bright red flag cannot pass without full scrutiny: we all owe it to our elderly and vulnerable, and those who care for them.

If Lyndoch gets this wrong, it could face financial ruin.

So the first question we must ask is how will the three-level clinic be funded?

Where is the $22 million coming from?

I originally thought a large slice could come from again dipping into the refundable deposits (RADs) paid by residents as they enter Lyndoch.

RADs were used to pay for the $15 million Swinton Wing expansion.

By law, however, RADs cannot be used for buildings that are not related directly to care for the residents.

The medical clinic will have no direct benefit to the residents of Lyndoch.

It’s a commercial, for-profit entity that, as a first priority, needs to cover its own costs.

Whatever is left over may, one day, trickle into Lyndoch itself.

So, to be super clear, every dollar of Lyndoch funds that goes toward building and paying off the clinic is one less dollar available to our parents and grandparents in Lyndoch, or toward hiring staff to care for them.

There is no public information about how the clinic will sustain itself and when it expects to make a return back to Lyndoch Living.

What we do know from Lyndoch’s 2020 Consolidated Financial Statements, however, is that Lyndoch has limited surplus funds, and there is no government funding for this project.

This leaves Lyndoch with very few funding options and leads to more questions:

To build this clinic, will Lyndoch rely on a large, commercial bank loan that leaves it exposed to interest rate hikes?

Will the clinic make enough money to cover these loan repayments?

Will Lyndoch also use entry fees from the Waterfront Living apartments?

Perhaps, but this money was to improve Lyndoch facilities for residents – not a new building for GPs, a dentist, a radiographer, chemist and a cafe.

Will Lyndoch be dipping into other reserves, such as money set aside for staff long service leave or holiday pay?

And, above all, has the board undertaken its own due diligence for this project and the return on investment to Lyndoch?

We need answers – urgently –  and someone needs to step up beyond this page to find them.

Mr Conway is unable to say much, but he has said enough to expose the risks of remaining silent.

One more question for me remains: is the board still the voice of the community or has it lost its voice altogether?

If the silence of the board continues in the face of Mr Conway’s revelations, we will have the answer.

Exclusive

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I am technically taking a break, but some stories can’t wait until the new year, and this is one of them – a confirmed outbreak of scabies in the Audrey Prider Centre at Lyndoch Living.

What a Christmas gift to residents in APC, which is a high-care dementia wing and home to some of the most vulnerable people in Lyndoch aged care.

The scabies diagnosis confirms what Lyndoch nursing staff and some residents’ families have long suspected, with a nasty rash coming and going through APC for months and months.

Lyndoch management finally brought in skin specialist Dr Werner Sinclair on 5 December and he has since issued a formal diagnosis of scabies for at least two residents.

I understand that up to eight residents are now potentially affected by what is a highly contagious infestation.

But this diagnosis by Dr Sinclair didn’t just happen.

It followed an intervention by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation on behalf of nursing staff who were sick to death of being fobbed off.

As reported by The Terrier, the union wrote a letter to Lyndoch on 27 November demanding answers on whether there had been any suspected or confirmed cases of scabies in APC in the past six months and, if so, what had been done about it.

Some of its members, the union wrote, had been “actively treated” for suspected scabies, as had some residents, but nursing staff were “of the view” that they were not to talk about it with residents’ families, or each other.

The ANMF was also told by its members that “minimal infection control measures” had been put in place.

If what the union says is correct, this is pure damage control, if not a cover up.

One thing is certain, and that is that it took the union to put a rocket up the backside of Lyndoch about this outbreak and to bring in the experts.

This begs the bigger and more important question of why?

Why must it take the intervention of a union to see the immediate welfare of residents and staff in Audrey Prider Centre shoot to the very top of Lyndoch’s priorities?

And if the union had not intervened, would the outbreak have ever been formally diagnosed and responded to? Or would the itch just go on?

The families of some of those infected are absolutely furious by what has unfolded.

Their stories are ones of confusion and misinformation.

One woman said she learned of her mother’s scabies via a phone call from Lyndoch last Monday – December 14 – by which time her family had been to visit her mother several times and been potentially exposed.

In another case, a family member of an APC resident who is being treated for scabies, has scabies.

While scabies is not deadly, it causes an intense, almost maddening itch from tiny, burrowing mites that get under the victim’s skin.

Treatment is via either oral medication or an external lotion applied all over the body.

According to a document sent to me, Lyndoch is using the services of an infection control consultant – Victorian Infection Prevention Services – to help manage its outbreak.

Bulk supplies of one lotion, Benzemul, have been brought it to protect APC nursing staff, who were urged to start applying the lotion to themselves as of last Monday, 14 December.

It’s understood residents are also being treated with a lotion.

To contain the outbreak, APC staff must also wear long sleeves and gloves when dealing with infected residents, wash their hands after every resident contact, and dispose of all used linen immediately into a laundry skip rather than carrying it.

Scabies, to put it bluntly, is a bastard of a thing to catch, and to contain.

And all of this comes to light as the Lyndoch Living executive gathers tonight for its Christmas break up. I hope they are having a good time, because those with the scabies are certainly not.

I emailed the Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power, chair Susan Cassidy, and the Lyndoch media unit at 11am this morning for comment. I will update this piece if any comment is provided.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Here’s a little surprise I discovered purely by accident – Warrnambool City Councillor Sue Cassidy is now Vice President of Lyndoch Living.

Wow, that is called shooting to the top after just three years on the board.

Ms Cassidy is second in charge on the board of the largest aged care home in Warrnambool and no doubt primed to replace President/chair Kerry Nelson when she retires.

At least two board vacancies should be coming up at next week’s Lyndoch Living AGM, although I can’t be sure, because board vacancies are no longer advertised.

But on my reckoning, Ms Cassidy is one of them and WCC colleague City Growth Manager Andrew Paton is the other.

Abbey, the Unofficial Member of Lyndoch representing the broader community, had hoped to apply.

Of course she had no hope, because to become a board member, you have to first be a member – approved by the board.

At last count, there are no members of Lyndoch Living who are not already connected to Lyndoch.

As I have written before, this is because ever since Lyndoch changed in 2018 from an association to a Company Limited by Guarantee, it runs pretty much as a closed shop.

Board members are now appointed by invitation to what is a volunteer position.

Not only did Abbey have to scale that impossible hurdle, she had to unseat either Mr Paton or Ms Cassidy and they are going nowhere fast.

Because Ms Cassidy and Mr Paton have another special job inside Lyndoch and that is as co-directors of Lyndoch Healthcare Pty Ltd.

The third director is Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power.

Lyndoch Healthcare Pty Ltd is the company that oversees the Warrnambool Medical Clinic which was bought by Lyndoch last year for $1.3 million and will be relocated to Lyndoch as part of the $100 million masterplan.

Here is question for the AGM next Tuesday: are the directors of Lyndoch Healthcare Pty Ltd paid? And if so, how much? And did the board select who became directors?

I hate to break it to Abbey, but I don’t think she is going to be elected to the board as a fresh face and neither, most likely, is anybody else.

[The Lyndoch Living AGM is next Tuesday at 4pm and will be Zoomed live by invitation only. Lyndoch has said a recording of the event will be uploaded to its website.]