Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Lyndoch Living has been in a mini lockdown to visitors for months – it still is – yet residents will this week be carted off to the Warrnambool May Races.

As we know, Lyndoch Living sponsors the main event, the Grand Annual Steeplechase, in what is one of the weirdest, inexplicable sponsorship deals between a not-for-profit, community owned, registered charity that services the aged…and a multi-million dollar gambling industry.

It’s almost as weird as Lyndoch being a major sponsor of the Hampden Football League alongside huge private, corporate entities like McDonald’s and Powercorp.

Anyone would think Lyndoch had money to burn, rather than running at a loss.

But I digress.

Yes, Lyndoch is off to the races, despite visitor restrictions at its homes which have been in place for months and which are still in place.

These restrictions prevent anyone from visiting a loved one (other than end of life care/compassionate care) except between the window of 10am and 2pm and only then by booking in advance.

Don’t turn up unannounced, even with your mask, vax certificate and RAT test – you will be turned away.

Children under 18 are still banned.

In fact until just before Anzac Day, 22 April, Lyndoch was only allowing two visitors, per resident per day, despite the State guidelines that have been in place since February allowing up to five.

The state guidelines don’t have time restrictions and they don’t ban children.

Lyndoch still does.

In fact Lyndoch is still urging visitors who can’t climb through their little 10am to 2pm time-slot to use social media, or a window visit, or an app, because heck, that is at least something, right?

You can’t hug your loved one or hold their soft, papery hand, but you can wave on Facetime: be grateful.

This leads us to a situation where kids and working people and busy people and people who forget or don’t know to book online are turned away from Lyndoch outside of visiting hours, yet Lyndoch is off to the races.

Why?

And how is it justified when such tight restrictions remain in place at Lyndoch itself and where staff shortages are still making basic care so difficult?

Of course there is the pleasure it will bring to those select residents who are fit enough to attend and who want to attend.

But in the absence of any explanation from Lyndoch (my emailed questions today went unanswered), I have a theory and it is this:

The corporate staff and any board members can’t possibly justify their attendance in the marquee to toast the Grand Annual on Thursday if at least some residents don’t get to sit in the same marquee for an hour or two on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I mean, how would it look?

As such, it’s absolutely predictable that we will see loads of photos on the Lyndoch Living Facebook page showing the delighted residents at the races – “free at last” – but will we see any snaps from inside the corporate tent on Thursday?

Hmmmm.

And will we see photos of the Lyndoch hierarchy presenting the sparkling winner’s trophy, sponsored on the back of staff shortages and cuts to the food budget?

I reckon the chances are 100/1.

Giddyup.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Update: Hello again and I have a bit of a Lyndoch Living update for you.

First, it’s slow going, but we are inching ever forward with our legal challenge against the Lyndoch board and its blanket rejection of people from becoming a member of Lyndoch.

The barrister we have hired for this challenge has been fully briefed by a local solicitor and now we wait to see if he thinks we have a case that can be taken to either the County or Supreme Court.

I am a Gemini, so patience is not a strength, but I am trying very hard to be patient while he decides whether the board has breached its responsibilities, both individually and collectively.

If he believes we have a case, then off we march toward court.

In the meantime, experienced care and nursing staff continue to leave Lyndoch and many are going to work for other aged care homes in and around Warrnambool.

They are not leaving the industry, they are leaving Lyndoch: what does that tell you?

Many of these staff don’t wish to leave Lyndoch and some are bereft at having to leave residents they have known for years, but they either feel they have no choice or have been given no choice. Again, what does that tell you?

Covid has had an impact on aged care everywhere, but it has nothing to do with this ongoing exodus at Lyndoch.

At the same time, I still receive, almost daily, distressing messages from family members of Lyndoch residents worried about their loved ones due to the staff shortages.

I have to be general here, not specific, as specific stories will identify those who are speaking up, so let me be general about these issues which range from basic care to simple comforts:

I am being told of residents not being showered as often as they should be, that incontinence pads aren’t being changed frequently enough, that the quality of the food has declined due to cost cutting, that residents can’t order an egg-on-toast for tea if it’s not on the menu, that meals from outside Lyndoch can no longer be brought in, that cooked breakfasts are down to once a month, that even two little dogs which used to come and visit residents to alleviate their loneliness are no longer allowed in.

Perhaps the little dogs have also been managed out.

Is it all true? I can only trust what these families tell me, as Lyndoch doesn’t ever respond to requests for comment, so I have given up trying. I trust the families.

Based on the past three years of pursuing this story, I don’t trust Lyndoch to tell the truth about what is going on inside.

Remember, Lyndoch last year failed to tell the public, or residents’ families, when it failed the national aged care standards. They found out from reading The Terrier.

As it happens, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission visited earlier this month for an unannounced, spot check on Lyndoch, which is currently ranked two out of four stars and in need of “significant improvements”. (Source: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/find-a-provider/aged-care-homes/1238016)

Would you believe it, this “surprise” spot check coincided with the very first edition of the new Lyndoch newspaper!

What a coincidence.

This pithy publication landed on every resident’s bedside table just a couple of days before the inspectors arrived in the Lyndoch foyer.

The paper was bursting with good news, including Lyndoch apparently hiring 116 (!) new staff, including 11 Registered Nurses and 11 enrolled nurses, from overseas, interstate and around the south-west.

116 new staff! Really? I received a message this past week that began with these words: “Things are dire here today….”

This message came from Lyndoch and I can be no more specific than that, because the witch hunt is on for anyone who dares to contact The Terrier.

The witch hunt is on and it’s relentless, but ultimately useless, because people won’t be gagged.

The residents’ families will keep talking and worried staff will keep talking, and as long as this page can keep ticking along, there is always a portal for the truth to come out.

Thanks, as always, for being a part of it.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

As promised, a quick update on the legal fight to bust down the walls around Lyndoch Living and allow the community to become members.

As we speak, a legal firm is now working on a brief for the barrister, which is the first step toward the barrister providing an opinion on how to proceed.

The barrister’s advice will consider the best way to frame a case against the Lyndoch board – both collectively and as individual board members – on whether they have failed in their duty to uphold the original spirit and purpose of Lyndoch.

As we know, the Lyndoch Living board last year rejected every single membership application from 115 lodged by people right across the local community.

Thanks to more than $12,000 raised via crowdfunding, we are now challenging that blanket rejection.

It is a slow and steady process, but the plan is to take Lyndoch Living to either the County or Supreme court.

I will be able to tell you more as the process unfolds.

You will also remember there is a second legal action underway: veterinarian Dr Michael McCluskey is challenging Lyndoch through VCAT, arguing the rejection of his membership application was discriminatory.

Dr McCluskey had his first mediation session via video link on 10 March and while the sessions are confidential, the mediation is continuing and Dr McCluskey is determined to press on.

“The mediation is still ongoing and if I am not happy with the outcome at the end of process, then I will be proceeding to a hearing at VCAT for them to decide on my claims,” he said.

In the meantime, Dr McCluskey has AGAIN applied to Lyndoch to become a member.

You got to hand it to Dr McCluskey; he stands by his belief that Lyndoch belongs to the community and is doing what he can to restore the community to its heart.

Lyndoch doesn’t seem to grasp the motivation behind this campaign.

The powers-that-be at Lyndoch angst over “the hidden agenda” and are fixated on trying to stop “The Terrier” from telling you what’s going on.

It won’t work.

Because this campaign is all about the residents and staff of Lyndoch: we will keep fighting for them, because Lyndoch was started 70 years ago, by the community, for the elderly and vulnerable people of Warrnambool.

They are no longer being cared for in the way they should be. I hear stories every day. You probably hear them too.

As it happens, Dr McCluskey’s elderly father receives some in-home services from Lyndoch Living as well as having a number of ex-Lyndoch staff who provide private carer services.

“I have found both the current and former staff to be lovely and very welcoming and friendly, which is in stark contrast to my experience with trying to become a member of Lyndoch Living,” he said.

Dr McCluskey said this only “further highlighted the importance of keeping Lyndoch Living membership open to the public so that the community can continue to play a vital role in the stewardship of the care of our aged and vulnerable citizens”.

As it sits, Lyndoch has no general members.

Hard to believe, but true.

But thanks to people like Dr McCluskey, Keep Lyndoch Living, the 115 people who applied for membership, all of those who threw $ in to the crowdfund, and the team now managing the legal challenge, the fight to keep Lyndoch a community asset rolls on.

Thanks for being a part of it.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Tonight I can reveal that a group of Lyndoch staff tried to alert the Lyndoch board to a looming staff crisis more than a year ago, but was ignored.

An explosive letter has emerged that was written by a group of experienced staff to the Lyndoch board on 2 April 2020 – 18 months ago.

The letter was delivered to the board via a trusted intermediary, a Warrnambool GP.

Staff are forbidden under Lyndoch policy to approach the board directly, but the authors, who represented a cross-section of Lyndoch, clearly felt they had no choice.

“It is with grave concern that we feel compelled to formally address the Board of Directors of Lyndoch Living,” the letter begins.

“Our knowledge that this direct communication may lead to employment termination must also demonstrate the gravity of our actions and the reason we undertake this anonymously,” it says.

Between them, the letter says, the authors have more than 50 years experience in aged care and they came with a warning:

“Over the last four years we have seen a significant deterioration of staff morale, and poor and highly detrimental decision making…,” they write.

“This has resulted in a very poor culture, significant stress and distress among staff, sick leave and resignations”.

Let’s just stop there for a moment.

I wish I could publish the entire letter, but Lyndoch is too litigious for me to take that risk, so what follows is my edited version of what the authors outline as their issues of major concern, the alleged causes and the request for action.

The staff tell the board that they tried to raise their concerns through the normal channels, but have got nowhere.

In fact the situation only got worse.

“Unfortunately we have met with obstruction, denial or dismissal at each point,” they write.

Either a lack of action or consequences for speaking up, meant other staff remained silent, which led to more “inappropriate and detrimental behaviour”.

The authors say they turned to two politicians for help who were alarmed by their claims and urged the staff to contact the board directly.

So they did, via a letter that could not be more direct.

They urged the board to do a “fearless review” of Lyndoch Living that would include three things:

1. Engage an independent company to undertake a cultural staff survey. (The) previous cultural review was prepared for the law firm that represents Lyndoch Living.

2. Ensure that the recommendations within the independent survey are tabled, considered and actioned by the Board;

3. Engage an independent forensic accountant to review appropriate resident related expenditure and review the current investment portfolio and commitments in line with a not-for-profit culture.

And at the end of the letter came the kicker.

The authors offered to meet with the board, to show their faces, and to step away from anonymity.

They would do this, they said, provided they could be protected from any threat to their jobs, and assured confidentiality.

This is huge.

Anybody who knows a Lyndoch worker who wants to speak up, but doesn’t, knows that the number one reason given is fear of being targeted, or losing their job.

The courageous staff behind this letter swallowed that fear because they believed if they did nothing, the situation would only deteriorate.

They decided to trust the board.

So they wrote their letter, they had it delivered via the GP and they waited for a response via the same intermediary.

And nothing happened.

They didn’t get a reply, much less an invitation to come and talk with the board in confidence.

I know the board received the letter and I know it was discussed, but it went no further.

The board stayed silent.

And the brave staff, their hearts swollen with disbelief and disappointment, felt that they were entirely on their own. They retreated back into the shadows and got on with caring for the elderly and vulnerable residents of Lyndoch.

That was 18 months ago.

I don’t know what has happened to the staff who wrote this letter, but their predicted catastrophe has come to pass.

The steady loss of experienced and dedicated staff from right across Lyndoch over the past five years has, in recent weeks, become a flood.

And still the board says, and does, nothing.

* Board members Percy Eccles and Suzanne Coulson resigned in March and May of this year. They have not been replaced.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Even South West MP Roma Britnell can’t get straight answers from the Lyndoch Living board.

The board has given short shrift to Ms Britnell’s recent questions about its blanket rejection of 115 membership applications from the community.

Its fulsome response to Ms Britnell was, wait for it, that it was “acting within the Lyndoch constitution.

End of conversation.

Ms Britnell was told nothing more.

At least the board is even handed when it comes to answering questions: it ignores everyone.

Ms Britnell, like the rest of us, learned nothing about why the applications were rejected, the criteria used, or the process followed.

We can only surmise, therefore, that there was no process or selection criteria.

It doesn’t matter that Ms Britnell, a State MP and our elected representative, was asking questions on behalf of her local constituents.

She was given zero from the board that, in theory, is also supposed to represent the community.

So if Ms Britnell can’t get an answer, what hope does someone like Warrnambool resident Margy Jackson have?

Margy, a retired school teacher, recently wrote to Lyndoch chair Sue Cassidy expressing her concerns about Lyndoch and the cutting out of the community.

Margy has had no response.

Former Deakin Professor James Dunbar and retired naval officer Jim Burke wrote to the board some months ago expressing their concerns about the viability of the $22m medical clinic being built at Lyndoch.

They have had no response.

It appears that the current board of seven volunteers – Ms Cassidy, Kane Grant, Andrew Paton, Kerry Nelson, Prof Rob Wallis, Lorraine Mielnik and Ron Page – has decided they are answerable only to themselves and the CEO.

Have they lost sight of who built and supported Lyndoch for so many decades?

Why else would the board agree to turn its back on their own community?

And why would these remaining board members (Percy Eccles and Suzanne Coulson quit earlier this year) want to be a part of such a closed shop?

Only they can answer that question.

I don’t expect any answers soon, but with Lyndoch’s staff and residential care – its core business – suffering under the board’s watch, the questions will only keep coming.