First Value for Money Audit report highlights woes at Palms

Dec 05, 2009 News

In the first ever Value for Money Audit Report to be published, many shortcomings within the Palms Geriatric Institution (Palms) were revealed. The Report was prepared by the Audit Office of Guyana.
The shortcomings were listed within the Executive Summary of the 2008 Audit Report, which highlighted the many faults that have been occurring at the institution.
According to the Executive Summary, funds that were allocated for the Palms were not identified because the collective budgeting was undertaken by the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security under the Social Services Programme (SSP).
Because the Administration of the geriatric home and the Ministry incurred expenditure, the total expenditure for the period could not be determined. The Audit Report stated that the Administration for the Palms could not be held accountable and responsible for the overall expenditure incurred for the Palms because complete information on the said expenditure was not made on behalf of the geriatric home.
The Report also disclosed that any worn and discoloured linens available to the residents at the Palms were not replaced, and that no dieticians/nutritionists were available at the Palms to assess the dietary needs of the residents.
According to the Report, Nursing Staff would prepare diet sheets to guide kitchen staff in the preparation of meals for the residents; a task which they are not qualified for. “As a result, the dietary needs for the residents were not reliably assessed,” the Audit Report read. It also said that the kitchen staff often prepared meals based only on the items available in the kitchen’s stores.
The report explained that because of poor food storage, meals were often contaminated and infested. This was because the Public Health Ordinance was not adhered to in relation to the storage and preparation of food and transporting of meals. “In addition, the kitchen staff were not certified food handlers and the transporting of meals was done in an unhygienic manner,” said the report.
The 2008 Audit Report read that the Palms did not follow the World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines – Facilities for Older Persons and Geriatric Standards for the comfort of the residents.
It said, “The facilities were poorly maintained and there were inadequate equipment/aids for residents with special needs.”
In the report it had been found that apart from the residents, the staff were also dissatisfied “with their poor working conditions, the inadequate supplies of protective gear, tools, utensils, materials and supplies, and a lack of training opportunities for staff.”

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