Voicing a concern regarding village life or care

Whether you’ve lived in a happy retirement residence for years, or just moved into a village, the ideal living circumstances would involve a harmonious relationship with your neighbours, staff and management.

As much as we’d love this, it isn’t always the case, and sometimes we can find challenges that we can no longer ignore.

With most concerns, your first port of call should be trying to informally resolve the issue with the Village

Manager or individual involved. Often there is an easy solution and with a bit of common sense and respect, issues that we thought were a big deal can be amicably resolved. It might help to prepare yourself before approaching the situation by jotting down clearly what the issue is, the impact it is having on you and the resolution you would like. This preparation alone might be the key to moving forward.

If you find the informal approach unsuccessful and you want to take your concern further, you might then check the village's complaint policy. Legally, every operator must have a written complaint policy that complies with the Retirement Villages Code of Practice. The policy must be available in common areas for residents to access or view at any time, and available on the retirement village’s intranet or website. Upon request, an operator must also offer a copy of the complaint policy to a resident who wants to make a formal complaint.

RVResidents offers a useful online form to assist RVR members and residents in making a formal complaint to their village. It steps through a simple process and then sends it off to the parties selected by the user. The idea of this is to eliminate the need for you to find the Statutory Supervisors and other agencies email addresses. You can find this form here www. rvranz.org.nz/formal-complaint/

When raising a complaint, your village or care provider should always treat you with courtesy and respect.

The operator must acknowledge your complaint in 5 working days and resolve it (to your satisfaction) within 20 working days. If it is not resolved, it can be referred to the statutory supervisor (which may take another 20 working days) and then, failing that, a mediator. The costs are covered by the operator (except where the complaint is between 2 residentsthen it is split 3 ways).

If the complaint still remains unresolved a resident may file a dispute notice to have the matter heard before a dispute panel. A resident may also choose to file a dispute notice if a formal complaint remains unresolved after 20 working days of filing the formal complaint.

Some facilities offer additional ways to voice a concern, over and above their legal requirements, which might assist you to feel more comfortable.

What about Aged Care?

Although RVResidents focuses primarily on assisting those living independently in retirement villages, the lines can begin to blur when we have Retirement Village ORA’s that offer hospital level care. So, when dealing with aged care, again, an informal approach may be all that is needed. However, the process from there on is different to that of a village, and there is also more assistance available.

For complaints about aged care services, you can contact a Nationwide Health and Disability Advocate on 0800 555 050 to discuss your complaint and the best way to resolve it, or go to the Advocacy Service website: www.advocacy.org. nz. You can contact HDC directly via the website, www.hdc.org.nz, or by phone, 0800 11 22 33

If you choose to contact the Ministry of Health, please be aware that gathering information can take time, and there is a process that will need to be followed. Any complaints about costs relating to care, you can talk to your residential care provider, the DHB, seek legal advice or go to the disputes tribunal.

Does this system work and what could a better complaints system look like?

The RVResident’s White Paper submission emphasised that it takes a great degree of effort for an elderly couple, single or a widow in their 70’s/80’s, to make a complaint. With health issues normally being cited as one of the reasons for ‘downsizing’ and moving into a village, many older people will choose to avoid stressful situations. Therefore, many residents find it difficult to approach an operator where they have felt powerless, victimised, bullied, or not listened to.

The RVR believes best practice would follow the proven Banking Ombudsman Scheme incorporating revised timeframes to better reflect the size of the sector and its demographics. ie. A complaint is;

• acknowledged by the operator or forwarded to the operator within 5 working days,

• ideally resolved by the operator within 10 working days from receipt by the operator, otherwise automatically referred to the Ombudsman for further involvement.

The advantages are;

1. A speedy process with clear steps and timelines that are easily understood, and no prolonged mediation process.

2. A system for both residents and operators to have input into fair outcomes.

3. Saves on costs for operators and avoids the need for legal representation (but would allow for an advocate to speak on behalf of the resident if requested).

4. Gives a commissioner or independent Ombudsman the legal authority to investigate, determine and enforce any decisions.

5. Makes any decision binding on the operator, but still allows residents to pursue recourse through other legal avenues, if not satisfied.

Key Points: For now, the current complaints system is all we really have to work with. If you’ve had a chat with your Village Manager and despite best efforts, haven’t been able to resolve the issue, you might like to involve your Residents Committee, a local advocate or an RVR contact. They can usually give some additional perspective as well as support you with the complaint process. Talk to the Retirement Commission. Remember, keep a cool head, and the resolution you want in the forefront of your mind. It’s your home and you’ve paid good money to enjoy it!

We don’t always think 20 years ahead...

Opinion piece by Patricia, Bay of Plenty Village Resident.

My husband Alastair and I moved here in November 2003. We paid $305,000 for our ORA, and when I leave my family will receive $207,300, being less 30% for my share of refurbishment. (Alastair passed away in 2019.)

In June this year I had a severe fall in my kitchen, fracturing my left hip. It had replacements in 1993 and 2008. After 11 days in hospital, and 4 weeks in convalescent care, I was able to come home.

ACC support services included showers, meals on wheels, taxis to the hospital for surgeon visits, ½ price visits to the physiotherapist. I have my own home-help cleaner who comes every 2 weeks for vacuuming and bathrooms etc.

My family said I should look at going into a fully serviced apartment. My son and family live in Rangiora and Ryman has a village there. The Sales Advisor sent me a letter and a beautiful book.

A 1-bedroom serviced apartment costs $420,000 and the single basic weekly fee is $369.00. I do not have the capital $212,700 capital needed to purchase a serviced apartment so I shall stay where I am. I can care for myself quite well now using a 3-wheel walking frame with a bag and basket, and a pair of crutches. A “hand-grabber” is very useful. I can drive my car and do my shopping and cooking.

Roger Goodman, BOP Chair for RVResidents says: “We don’t anticipate what the terms of the ORA or LTO agreements mean 20 years on. As things stand we give 70% of our assets to the Retirement Village as a non interest bearing loan for 10, 20 or 30 years to receive ZERO benefit from the capital gain we paid market price for. The changed legislation MUST be RETROSPECTIVE for our beneficiaries sake as well as our longevity.”

Refurbished homes in this village currently sell in the high $900,000 bracket. The house we sold in Ellerslie Auckland in 2003 for $440,000 is now worth $3.8m.

We do not regret coming here, but the current Act is very unfavourable to the residents.