A resident of Feros Care Residential Village Bangalow says that his time at the facility has become worse than it already was, since residents of Feros in Byron have been relocated there.
At 67 years of age, Brad Ryan is young compared to many of the residents – Mr Ryan was moved to Bangalow from Lismore Base when his hip rendered him immobile. ‘It took just over two years for me to get my hip replaced’, he told The Echo.
Mr Ryan says he would gladly move out of Feros today to make room for someone else if there was another option.
Mr Ryan says there has been a lot of reshuffling because of Feros in Byron Bay closing down.
He believes that there has been a shortage of staff since the extra people arrived and there are less positive lifestyle assistance (PLA) staff, and a lot of the work that they do is not PLA work.
He also claims staff are becoming burnt out.
‘One of the staff was in tears talking to me. I had tissues in my little walker and I gave them to her. There’s a fair bit of staff turnover here as well – there’s a lot of agency staff.’
Mr Ryan told The Echo he has been fed inadequate food which lacks nutrition, and residents have to wait for over half an hour in the dining room only to be served cold food. He also claims residents who are wheelchair-bound are having to spend entire days in their room, and meetings with residents and staff result in nothing of importance.
He said a meeting last week about the food didn’t mention the food, instead one of the staff members handed out colour charts.
‘Each resident got a pen so they could vote on the colour of new tablecloths’.
‘I said, “I don’t want one. This is just a distraction. It’s got nothing to do with food. Let’s talk about food!”’
Feros replies
A Feros Care spokesperson said, ‘Some of these residents have chosen new homes at Feros Village Bangalow where upon their arrival they were warmly welcomed with a special morning tea and personal introductions by dedicated village residents and staff’.
The spokesperson said that as a matter of policy, they do not disclose specific information regarding the health or status of individual residents.
They said that only 15 per cent of the total workforce was agency staff and staff levels, including their Lifestyle Coordinator, have remained consistent.
‘We’ve continued to maintain our regular activities calendar, with no changes in frequency, unless circumstances like Covid or other outbreaks pose a risk to our residents. The activities program is designed with the residents, and this week they enjoyed a concert, mini golf, bingo and exercise classes’.
Feros sent The Echo an example of the daily menu, which included a vegetarian mushroom fettuccine for lunch and a moussaka for dinner saying that ‘fruit is available in all kitchens’.
Yet Mr Ryan says he feels the staff know that things aren’t great at the facility.
‘Generally speaking, there are lots of nice people here and they’re working under duress’, he says.
‘However, they have mortgages and families and their lives – I understand their reasons for not wanting to blow the whistle.’
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