Man claims his mother was 'imprisoned' at Uniting Mayflower Village at Gerringong

Greg Barton's mother Ina Barton, 87, lives in the Uniting Mayflower Village at Gerringong.

In accordance with health advice, the village introduced COVID-19 restrictions at the outset of the pandemic.

Read more: After riding the trains to survive Bob finds a home in Corrimal

Gerroa resident Mr Barton returned home in May, after an overseas work trip.

He said he received more than a dozen letters from the aged care facility between March and September, updating him on the village's COVID-19 restrictions.

This included information outlining how on-site visitations could take place with certain restrictions.

"I understood that when COVID hits, we all have things that we all have to go through, and special precautions for places like nursing homes," Mr Barton said.

However, he said none of these letters contained any details about taking residents out of the residential home for outings.

Under NSW Health and industry advice, individual residents are permitted to leave care to attend small family gatherings.

Mr Barton said when he approached staff - who he described as "decent people" following instructions from headquarters - to request an outing with his mother, he said he was denied.

"I have been denied the right, guaranteed by NSW policy and law, to take her out," Mr Barton said. "Staff simply refused and said no."

Mr Barton described the result as "elderly incarceration", and said there could be thousands of families in similar situations, because Uniting "didn't want this information to be known".

"All freedom of movement between the resident and the outside world was cut off, meaning they could not leave," Mr Barton said.

"Families of the residents, unaware of the actual legislation, believed that they could not take their family members out.

"The NSW law, while very restrictive, did indeed protect this basic right.

"However, Uniting did not. By sending out this first letter and never informing residents and family of the right they have to take their loved ones out of the facilities, the residents have been abandoned, with their residential homes turned into defacto prisons."

Mr Barton said as of recent weeks, after several months of waiting, he was able to start taking his mother out of the facility for family outings.

"When I finally came across the NSW code, and called the Uniting Mayflower reading the exact words to them, the person at Mayflower immediately agreed I could take her out, but added that they do not 'promote' it," he said.

Mr Barton said residents' families had since been informed that they could now take residents for family outings away from the facility.

However, he said he was still angry about the situation, and concerned about the impact of long-term isolation on the residents.

"My mother has suffered mentally and physically from this, as have I," he said.

"This action on the part of Uniting has kept families in the dark about their rights, and brutally stripped old folks in these nursing homes of the most basic human rights.

"No matter how good the care is, if they don't let you go out, it becomes a prison. And it felt like my mother was imprisoned."

A Uniting spokesperson said residents at all Uniting aged care residences are provided with the latest health advice as per guidelines issued by NSW Health.

"Written copies of the advice are also provided into each household for residents to access," the spokesperson said. "Copies of the same advice are emailed to residents' families.

"Staff have not prevented residents from leaving the home, however they are being strongly advised to take precautions ... if they choose to leave the residence.

"We have since spoken to the family member of Ina Barton and clarified the guidelines and processes and she has been on a number of outings with her relatives."

National Seniors Australia says it has been working with other groups like Dementia Australia to provide input to the federal government, the relevant minister and the Aged Care Royal Commission to ensure aged care homes are not places where elders are locked away in a prison-like atmosphere during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There has to be a balance between allowing people to visit their loved ones and protection of the people inside the home," chief advocate Ian Henschke said.

"The Aged Care Royal Commission has just been looking into this and has made better access by visitors where possible one of its key recommendations."

Mr Henschke said extra money had already been allocated by the federal government to aged care homes to ensure the infection control and staffing was at a sufficient level to allow more visitation.