George Manning rest home residents Val Smith (left) and Jean Potter. Photo: RNZ / Anna Sargent
Residents at a Christchurch rest home are alarmed at proposed staffing cuts that will mean there are fewer people to look after them.
Management at the George Manning Lifecare Village want to cut 479 hours a week off the caregiver roster.
Residents said the change would threaten their health and safety, but the rest home said that was not the case.
Val Smith - who had been at the George Manning rest home for three and a half years - said staff were already under massive pressure to look after everyone and having fewer people on duty would have a big impact.
"They're not going to have time to answer all the bells that are going to be ringing and do their jobs as well. There's a lot of little things that are going to be no longer there for us like the occasional hug when we feel we need it that sort of thing, because they'll be rushing off somewhere else."
Smith said residents were kept in the dark about the proposal and she was saddened by what was happening.
"We've grown to know and love these girls because they've looked after us, not only cared for our physical health but they've also cared for our mental health."
Another woman at the rest home, Jean Potter, was worried about people's safety and said it could be a difficult and intense environment.
"We've had such a horrendous winter, the amount of [residents] we've lost over that time, and when you've got old people, it takes a lot of guts to be able to handle that sort of thing."
One caregiver Brianna Dynes, who was also a New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate, said she would have to cut back the physio and group exercise classes she ran.
"Without that their mobility is going to decline, they're going to end up needing more hoists, more help, everything like that, the people who I've got up walking now their mobility will decline and they'll end up being back to bed bound," she said.
About 30 people - including residents, caregivers and community members - attended the meeting. Photo: RNZ / Anna Sargent
The proposal to cut hundreds of hours of staff shifts came at a time workers were already struggling, Dynes said.
"We've got at the moment each person gets about six to eight residents each in the morning to look after. If you're in the shower with someone and another resident is ringing, it's at least 20 to 30 minutes before you can go and help the next one, so they're already waiting a long time to be helped," she said.
"The longer the waits, the more people get agitated and just want to move themselves, so they get up and forget they can't walk, so they just fall over."
Dynes said a new roster with the reduced hours was set to start on 28 October and about 20 staff would move to other jobs with the company.
Heritage Lifecare, the operator of George Manning, said the level of care for residents would not be affected.
Chief executive Norah Barlow said the staffing changes were a last resort but there were more rest home beds in Christchurch than were needed.
"While we expect this to change over time as the older population in Christchurch increases, this has presently resulted in us having some empty beds and we need to ensure our staffing levels are correct for that number of residents," she said.
"Every staff member affected by the changes has been offered a role either within George Manning or at other Heritage facilities in the region. None of our registered nurses at George Manning are impacted."
"The new staffing levels that are being set are absolutely sufficient to meet the care needs of our residents, and it is to be noted, will continue to be above Te Whatu Ora's required safe staffing levels, ensuring our residents continue to receive quality care."
NZNO lead organiser Lynda Boyd said the cuts were among a number the union had seen in the aged care sector around the country.
"I was advised yesterday of three more with a different provider that will be proposals to cut hours, that will be happening over the next couple of weeks, and there are five currently underway or in process so that's eight or nine in total that we're currently seeing in the South Island. There are increased numbers in the North Island as well," she said.
