The Department of Health imposed sanctions on Bupa Berry earlier this week, which means the facility will be unable to take new residents for the next six months. 

NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) president Brett Holmes, said nurses at the facility had expressed concerns about their safety and that of residents prior to the sanctions being imposed. 

“We have recently done a safety audit because nurses were concerned about their own safety and the safety of residents,” he said. 

“Bupa Berry has not provided us with the documentation on patient and staff assaults and their Continuous Quality Improvement plans to remedy this issue.” 

In regards to the allegations, a Bupa spokesperson said the company had responded to the information requests made by the NSWNMA. 

“[We] welcome their further input,” the spokesperson said. “We always welcome conversations with our employees on how we can better support them in delivering care to our residents and address any concerns they may have.”

According to the government’s My Aged Care framework, the Department of Health may implement sanctions on a facility if there is severe risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of someone receiving aged care services, or if a provider has received a Notice of Non-Compliance but has not fixed the problem in an agreed period of time.

Nurses and staff at Bupa Berry also made claims they had not been paid for almost daily overtime work, and said the workload was “impossible”. 

“They are doing more than an hour of unpaid overtime at the end of every shift because they can’t leave the work not done,” Mr Holmes said. 

“Most don’t have time for their allocated breaks.” 

Bupa did not confirm or deny these allegations. 

One nurse likened working at Bupa Berry to working at a factory. 

“One said to me, ‘It’s like a factory. It’s not personal care, it’s impersonal’,” Mr Holmes said. “They have to provide personal care. They can’t do it to the level they want because they simply don’t have the time.”

Bupa has apologised to residents, staff and families, and has committed to create a dedicated recruitment team, to add more employees to the Bupa Berry facility. NSWNMA said while a recruitment team may be able to assist the facility, the root of most of the home’s issues was under-staffing. 

“Staffing is the key issue, it leads to aggression from residents, you can’t rush the elderly, it makes them agitated and they become confused and fearful,” Mr Holmes said. 

“[The nurses] have no time to take someone who is feeling upset and agitated for a walk or even sit with them for a few minutes.” 

The spokesperson for Bupa admitted the company had struggled to attract and maintain skilled staff members at regional aged care homes. 

“The growth of Australia's ageing population means demand for aged care services has also grown,” they said. 

“This has led to some challenges in attracting and retaining experienced and skilled health professionals to work in rural homes.” 

Bupa Berry is the second Bupa aged care facility in NSW to have sanctions imposed this year. These sanctions have partly been due to the workload pressures nurses are facing, as well as bullying, according to Mr Holmes. 

“At some other Bupa sites around NSW, members have expressed concerns regarding ongoing bullying and harassment and serious safety risks arising from violent incidents,” he said. 

Specific details about Bupa Berry's non-compliance are yet to be briefed, however the spokesperson said independent advisors have been appointed to help the home work through the issues identified by the Quality Agency.

“We are in the process of making the necessary improvements,” they said.