The nursing home where grandmother Clare Nowland was tasered by police has been deemed a non-complaint by the regulator on a separate issue.
At Yallambee Lodge, a retirement home in the southern NSW town of Cooma, risk management systems and practices were declared non-compliant by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission last month.
The facility was where Ms Nowland, 95, who suffered from dementia, was allegedly hit with a Taser by Senior Constable Kristian White on May 17.
She died a week later in hospital from head injuries, surrounded by some of her eight children, 24 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
An unannounced assessment of the facility was carried out on July 5 to check whether it met quality standards for aged care.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has found that Yallambee Lodge (pictured), a retirement home in the southern NSW town of Cooma, has made no complaints
Clare Nowland (pictured), 95, lived at the facility before she was hit with a Taser by police on May 17. A week later she died in hospital from head injuries
The committee’s assessment report revealed that a separate incident had occurred in May, which prompted the performance audit.
This was the same month that Ms. Nowland was tasered.
Details were scarce, but the report described the incident as a “priority” matter.
A priority is an issue that “might have caused physical or psychological harm and/or discomfort that would normally require some form of medical or psychological treatment”, according to NSW Health.
It can also be ‘if there are reasonable grounds for reporting the incident to the police’.
According to the report, the facility had not yet completed its investigation into the incident.
In addition to ruling that no complaint was made, it was found that Yallambee Lodge had failed to adequately report the matter to the committee.
“This is evidenced by the provider’s failure to comply with mandatory reporting and reporting requirements for the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) for a priority 1 incident occurring in May 2023,” the report said.
The committee said there were “gaps in the agency’s internal incident investigation and reporting relating to the notifiable incident.”
They added separately that the facility “did not always identify and respond to consumer abuse and neglect.”
Yallambee Lodge has since told the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission that it is taking steps to review and improve its services, including the delivery of care and reporting of incidents following the audit.
It comes as Ms Nowland’s family launches civil proceedings against the state government in the wake of her death.
In their statement of claim filed with the court, the executor of Ms Nowland’s estate claims NSW Police acted unreasonably and tried to downplay what happened in front of Yallambee Lodge staff, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Constable White, who allegedly fired the Taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and general assault in local court over the incident.
Constable White, who fired the Taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault in local court over the incident.
Senior Constable Kristian White (pictured left with his partner), who fired the Taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault over the incident
Neither he nor his fellow officer, Sergeant Rachel Pank, are listed as defendants in the civil case.
The court document contains a detailed account of what allegedly happened in the early hours of May 17, when Ms Nowland was tasered while holding a knife and using her walker.
White has been suspended from the force with pay, while Pank faces no criminal charges in connection with the incident.
In their case, the Nowlands allege that the Taser was fired contrary to police guidelines and that Sergeant Pank, as the senior officer, did not order her colleague not to use the weapon on the elderly woman.
Police have also called in a critical incident team to investigate the incident, which will be independently assessed.
The Nowland family is seeking damages over Clare’s death, including funeral and wake costs, loss of financial support, damages for curtailment of life expectancy and loss of financial support.
The NSW District Court can award damages of up to $1.2 million in civil cases.
On Thursday, the Downing Center District Court adjourned the case until October 26.