CRISIS MANAGEMENT ‘Strictly confidential’ messaging in case scandal leaks to media: Executives at Baptist Community Services are advised in December how to respond to questions from journalists, with examples such as: Q5. What about SPECIFIC complaint details? (e.g. abuse/hasten death?): “It is not appropriate to discuss these complaints publicly as they relate to personal matters about people’s privacy. As soon as we became aware of the nature of the complaints we acted decisively ‘ ’ Legal advice on December 17 from a solicitor at Hynes Legal, Julie McStay, advises the Baptist group’s chief executive: There are a number of very serious allegations made about terrible mismanagement and neglect of the residents including the death of a resident, potentially as a result of directions given by (management). These allegations need to be investigated as a matter of urgency The legal advice stresses this plan will be developed so that we are involved in the investigation to attempt, where possible, to obtain the benefit of privilege (confidentiality) ‘ ‘ ’ ’ Nurse and carer Leonie Young tells managers in an internal probe in December: We felt that you guys were aware of what was going on here and that you had basically stuck your head in the sands and didn’t want to know about it. That’s the impression that we all got and that’s why most of us gave up saying anything ‘ ’ Employee at Kepnock Grove tells The Australian: We believe a number of deaths occurred sooner because of neglect, poor care, underfeeding, and not tending to their injuries and illnesses … We know that a lot of the official documents are dodgy or not even filed – we were not allowed to write incident reports with the truth when something bad had happened. There was weird stuff happening all the time and then a cover-up to keep it quiet. The place was a profit-centre – it was about the bottom line ‘ LYNDON MECHIELSEN The Kepnock Grove aged-care home in Bundaberg, Queensland. The facility is run by Baptist Community Services (Carinity) Baptist Community Services tells the home’s manager in December she is accused, among other things, of: falsifying documentation by changing incident and progress notes to alter the meaning, so as not to alert head office to any site incidents Carinity’s PR and media manager James Woods emails late on Friday: I am writing now to put The Australian on notice that we have made application to the Supreme Court of Queensland for an order restraining The Australian from publishing their story in relation to Kepnock Grove Solicitor Julie McStay advises The Australian’s Hedley Thomas late on Friday: Please contact … urgently … regarding an urgent application for injunction to be filed by Carinity Community Services Group and heard before Justice Mullins in the Brisbane Supreme Court of Queensland TODAY 13 February 2015 at 6pm this evening CEO Jon Campbell in a media statement subsequently issued to The Australian: We are deeply sorry that clinical management at Kepnock Grove was not what it should have been. Our No 1 priority has always been to ensure the safety of the residents and our resources were dedicated to doing so from the first moment we were aware the allegations ‘ ‘ ’ ‘ ‘ ’