Originally Posted by
Roger
Having personally witnesssed the way my father was "cared" for in Ryman Orewa dementia unit over many many months I am very sad to confirm that standards are very low indeed, at least at Ryman's Orewa facility in late 2012 they were.
A brief over-view of the house of horrors I witnessed at Ryman's facility
Lack of patient notes, each new shift of predominantly Phillipino woprkers seemed to have little to no idea of his advanced medical needs and condition
Frequent loss of hearing aids, glasses, nobody seemed to care or help him find them, scabies that went untreated for too long and too infrequently, staff that didn't want to get their hands dirty applying the medication, reluctance to call the doctor on many occassions when the family thought it was in his best interests, (we almost had to threaten them with legal action), lack of timely assistance with toilet requirements, in my opinion under-nourishment with meals, lack of assistance with obtaining adequate hydration, he couldn't walk at all towards the end, over medication by miles in our opinion...really it was a truly horrific way to see my father gradually pass away. He deserved much better after more than 50 years service as a Presbyterian minister. If it wern't for the fact that my Mum is in good nick and lived nearby in another retirement facility and could visit him daily, his treatment would have been much worse.
I was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman and have sinced exitied my association with Ryman and the level of "care", if you can call it that was a significant part of that decision.
There are many reasons i now prefer to invest in SUM instead of Ryman.
1. SUM is growing much faster.
2. SUM is muti award winning
3. SUM is better value based on its much faster growth rate
4. SUM is better diversified geographically and has a better spead of retirement facilities in the popular North Island area's
5. SUM is more heavily exposed to the Auckland market with 5 villages, (RYM has five times the market capitalisation so would need 25 villages in Auckland to have the same relative exposure, not the 5 ? it has.
I am proud to support a multi award winning company (SUM) and was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman when I saw the treatment of my father.
I see RYM in their latest press release prattling on about how important their standards are to them and how they've made moves to improve their systems and keep families better informed blah, blah, blah. I'm not impressed, too little too late as far as I'm concerned.
Sorry about the long rant but I have a VERY strong ethical preference to invest in this company (SUM) that win's best standards awards year after year after year. Diversification be dammed, I'll invest in the company that really looks after our elderly folks.
I'd bet money, (and have effectivly), that SUM has nothing to hide, unlike some operators in this field.
This sector absolutly needs transperancy and any move to publish / put independent audit reports of the standards applying to each individual facility be it rest home, hospital or dementia care, should be encouraged so that families can make informed decisions on where to get proper care for their loved ones.