Lynda and her sister got special permission to visit their mum May during the lockdown of her aged care facility (Image: Supplied)

Vulnerable elderly Australians are being left to suffer amid the ongoing crisis hitting the aged care sector.

With the help of our readers, Crikey is this week publishing first-hand accounts of families witnessing the tragedies unfolding inside residential homes, where hundreds have already died this year.

If you would like to share your own story about a family member or loved one, we’d love to hear from you. Please write to us — and include a photo if possible — to letters@crikey.com.au. We won’t publish anything without responding to you first.

Left alone in a nappy

Alice’s* nursing home in Queensland has been locked down since January 4. She recently lost her husband of 60 years. Her son-in-law James told Crikey how worried they were after she contracted COVID from a staff member.

“She is recovering now, but is regularly in tears as many staff are off with COVID and she needs help to go to the toilet or have a shower,” he said.

James said at one stage she was being left in bed in nappies with no staff available to regularly take her to the toilet. 

Alice’s family requested we don’t identify her as she prefers to stay private, and doesn’t want to bring any negative attention to the nursing home, which she believes is “doing their best”. But James says he believes there should be a sector-wide pay rise, and that a one off-bonus to staff, as announced by the federal government last week, is not enough. 

“Morrison, Hunt and Colbeck must be held accountable [for] the many unnecessary deaths as a result of their failures,” James said.

“I would like to see more pressure put on Colbeck to be sacked.” 

One of the lucky ones

May Martin is living in aged care in Victoria as she suffers from dementia. Isolation and lack of stimulation during lockdowns have caused her dementia symptoms to worsen rapidly. May’s family were given special permission to visit during lockdown due to her deteriorating condition.

May’s daughter Lynda told Crikey that although things have been hard, May is one of the lucky ones who has received consistently good care. But Lynda thinks aged care workers aren’t sufficiently remunerated to reflect the “important job they do of caring for our beloved elders”.

“These workers deserve to be awarded a decent pay increase, alongside any one-off payment. We are so very grateful for their efforts throughout the pandemic.”