Old age home accused of neglect of resident, theft

A home for the elderly in Rosebank says it conducted an internal disciplinary process with its staff following a complaint of neglect of, and theft from, a former resident.

Michelle Uren’s mother was a tenant at Huis Luckhoff, but has since been moved to a new frail care facility after her medical condition deteriorated.

According to Uren, her mother had lived at Huis Luckhoff since 2021 but matters came to a head when she realised her mother’s medical condition had worsened and the facility failed to inform her about the changes.

“When one entrusts a home with the care of their parent, even if they are in assisted living, one would at the very least expect that the home would assess and move the client to the necessary unit as their health declines.

“On October 3, I received a missed call from Huis Luckhoff’s landline. The message was from (a nurse) who said my mom was not well and I should please call back.

“I tried repeatedly to call back ...The landline number to Huis Luckhoff kept telling me that it was not working.

“In desperation, I called the Rosebank police station and asked them to send a van to get a nurse to call me back. (The nurse) called me back and said that although she thought my mom may have had a stroke earlier, it turned out to be low blood sugar,” said Uren.

In December last year, Uren said her mother attended the wedding of her grandaughter in Caledon where more alarm bells started ringing.

“We could see how physically frail my mom had become with very limited mobility. What was even more of a concern was her very obvious mental confusion and memory loss.”

Uren said she immediately made plans to move her mother to a different facility closer to where she lives.

During her mother’s stay at the home, Uren said, they noticed on visits that marked items of hers were stolen and enquiry to have them returned was fruitless.

“I am unhappy with how they dealt with this whole issue. My mother is at a new home and we are much happier for that but suffering the trauma that Huis Luckhoff put us through by not communicating to us about her deteriorating state could have been prevented. They should take accountability for it,” said Uren.

Huis Luckhoff spokesperson Annemarie Bezuidenhout confirmed they had received a formal complaint from Uren.

“A huge effort was undertaken to look for these items, including the housekeeping department, laundry and other residents, but it was not found. All complaints were investigated and internal disciplinary procedures were conducted with the staff involved,” said Bezuidenhout.

Cape Times