The New Zealand Herald has recently published a series of stories on abuse and neglect in NZ aged care facilities – similar to the ABC’s investigation here.
Over the past 10 years, retirement villages have emerged as the largest operator of residential aged care.
The Office of the Ombudsman will now be monitoring the treatment of patients in privately run aged care facilities – along with detainees in court cells – after the NZ Government announced an expansion of its responsibilities.
The Office already inspects state-run facilities as well as prisons, health and disability places of detention, immigration detention facilities and childcare centres.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says he realises this represents a “major change” for the sector and they will be “engaging with them at the earliest opportunity about how a new independent inspection regime could work.”
