Care agency workers, paid by Auckland DHB, stopped turning up to help bed-bound Beverley Katavich get out of bed, washed and dressed because they said her new bed was too low.
Previously, 87-year-old Beverley had been in a single hospital bed at home, which was supplied to help treat some bed sores.
After the bed sores had healed, Beverley wanted to change to a wider, more comfortable bed. Her sister Shirley found one for her, but the agency carers said it didn't meet health and safety height requirements and refused to help any further.
Beverley had a stroke several years ago and is partially paralysed and unable to speak. The only way she can get washed, dressed and into her wheelchair is with help.
But the bed issue created a stand-off. Other agencies on the DHB's books also declined to take on the job for the same reason of health and safety.
In the meantime, it was left to 84-year-old Shirley and to Dominique Morello, the woman who manages their apartment, to do the lifting and caring.
Morello has her own family, an elderly mother to look after, and apartments to run, yet she made time to help Beverley two or three times a day.
"I've been brought up to look after your elders, you don't just put them in a retirement home and forget about them," she said.
Thankfully, Morello was familiar with how to help. Previously, the care agency had taken her on as paid staff. This was because the care agency would sometimes arrive with only one carer, so Morello would step in to help.
However, when the agency withdrew their services, they also stopped paying Morello. Despite this, she continued because she couldn't face seeing Beverley stuck in bed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without any chance of having a wash.
"If I wasn't here to help, what would have happened?" Morello said.
Shirley says it doesn't bear thinking about. But she knew how much the new bed meant to Beverley. Although Beverley can't talk, she can make her mind known with nodding and pointing and it was clear she wanted to keep it.
Morello says Beverley's resistance to the hospital bed was partly because she was terrified when she'd get turned over onto her side by the agency staff as the bed was so narrow "she'd look down and see the floor and because it's so high up she'd get frightened and become uncooperative".
With the new wider bed, it's easy to avoid this. Shirley and Morello use a hoist to lift Beverley out. They've been able to do this for weeks without any issues or back problems. They can't understand why it's such a big deal.
Auckland DHB did offer a slightly-wider hospital bed to try to keep everyone happy, but it was still narrower and less comfortable than the new one. Beverley slept better in the new one and wanted to keep it.
Her acupuncturist Maria Rowell believes it's important for patients to feel heard.
"It's ridiculous. If she wants this bed and spends most of her life in it, she should be allowed that comfort.”
Shirley knew there was a potential solution. Auckland DHB could allow Shirley to be in control of the funds in order to employ carers from an agency not on the DHB preferred list. Yet Shirley says the DHB wouldn't consider this option.
At her wits' end, Shirley contacted Fair Go. We requested to be present at a planned meeting. The DHB agreed, but delayed the meeting and said they'd be sending a different representative.
It was worth the wait. At the meeting, the DHB finally agreed to allow Shirley to take charge of the money to employ carers herself. It also agreed to backdate Morello’s pay for the time she'd been helping.
In a statement to Fair Go, the DHB acknowledged "it took longer than Beverley and Shirley would have liked".
In fact, it had been 86 days without help.
It took Shirley another couple of weeks to find the right agency.
She chose "Home Instead", who came and assessed the situation and were happy to work with Beverley's new bed.
Shirley says their lives have been changed. Morello is able to have some well-deserved time off, and the new carers couldn't be better.
"We wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for Fair Go and Dominique, we could not have done it without you, I'm not greasing you, it's the truth,” Shirley said.
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