A rest home operator has apologised after keeping a resident in an armchair for more than three weeks because it couldn't find a bed for her.
NZME reports the 95-year-old was kept in the armchair at Whakatane's Mary Shapley Care Home because she wasn't able to lie down on a normal bed, and an adjustable hospital-style bed was not available.
Her legs reportedly swelled up and she became confused after 24 days in the reclining chair in early 2016. She was only taken out of the chair for toilet breaks and showering.
Operator Bupa NZ said it was taking the incident "extremely seriously" and offered a "sincere apology".
"The wellbeing of our residents is our absolute priority," a spokeswoman told NZME.
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"All she wanted was a bed that they could [use to] raise her head a little bit, which I don't think is an unreasonable request in a place taking $1800 a week off you," her daughter said.
After a hospital visit, the elderly woman was moved to another facility with hospital-level care. She died later that year.
Bupa NZ told NZME it would be reviewing the circumstances and the care it provided - or lack of it.
Newshub.
