Piri Hemi's family are happy after the woman responsible for slapping and manhandling their father and grandfather was charged with assault.

The family of Piri Hemi, 86, planted a hidden camera in his room at Hamilton retirement facility Cascades when they became worried about his care.

On Monday, Piri's son Allan said his dad's rest home had "stolen his spirit" after video footage revealed that a carer had slapped and manhandled the former railway worker and security guard.

RADIO NEW ZEALAND Privacy Commissioner says families are within their rights to secretly film family members in rest homes after footage emerges of an elderly man being mistreated.

The horrified family removed Piri from Cascades and took him into their own home in Hamilton's Rototuna.



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After the footage was published shocked viewers left messages of support on Stuff's Facebook page condemning the actions of the carer and some contacted the family directly.

Police were given the footage in June and on Tuesday, the day after Stuff published the family's story, confirmed they had charged a 23-year-old woman with common assault.

DOMINICO ZAPATA/FAIRFAX NZ The caregiver involved resigned after the incident, Hamilton rest home facility Cascades said.

She is on bail, to appear in Hamilton District Court on Thursday.

When Allan got a call from police on Monday night the family had a cry, a hug and "a bit of a happiness jiggle".

Piri's wife, Betty, was asleep and had to wait until morning to find out.

DOMINICO ZAPATA/FAIRFAX NZ Piri Hemi, 86, now lives with son Allan Hemi at the family's Rototuna home.

"We were sort of holding it in ourselves and now it's been aired out," Allan said.

"We're just glad that [the caregiver is] going to be held accountable and people will know, 'don't hire this person in the retirement business'."

Stuff went to the caregiver's home on Tuesday but her parents said she "wasn't in a good way".

Meanwhile the Waikato District Health Board has admitted that the Hemis would not suffer any repercussions about the camera and privacy issues.

On Tuesday they suggested the camera might have breached privacy laws, a view that incensed social media commentators and the Hemis.

Allan said his dad's wellbeing was more important than the caregiver's privacy.

"We're his family. If we can't look after him, then nobody else will. If we had told management about the camera, we would never have seen anything like we have seen."

Health board senior planning manager Paul Keesing said there would definitely not be repercussions for the family.

"In this instance it's turned out for the best ... We were certainly able to pick up things that were clearly unacceptable behaviour and take some action to avoid that happening in the future," he said.

"It is a bit of a balancing act."

The board wouldn't condone the use of hidden cameras but the footage would help the investigation, he said.

On the face of it, this use of a hidden camera was unlikely to be a breach of the Privacy Act, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards said.

There is an exemption for individuals collecting information for family or domestic affairs, he said – but there can be other legal risks.

"It seems to me that the family in this case had really sound reasons to express concern and you would expect the rest home to thoroughly investigate that."

But health facilities are increasingly having issues with recording devices, he said, and could develop their own rules.

There can be good reasons to have cameras – for example recording a birth or complex medical information – but some hospitals had found they were made for intimidating people or possibly being put online.

Grey Power's Roy Reid was glad the Hemi family had planted a camera, for Piri's sake.

"They've got the proof, haven't they?" the aged care and retirement village committee chairperson said.

Grey Power was concerned about the low pay for rest home caregivers – not far above the minimum of $15.25 – and a lack of training.

But that was improving and the best employers were paying a higher rate to trained workers, he said.

Cascades had earlier said in a statement that it was a huge shock to see the footage and the caregiver had since resigned.

The Waikato District Health Board has given Cascades a list of eight "corrective actions" to change or start on by the end of August.

The Hemi whanau also made a complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner.



WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT A FAMILY MEMBER

• Speak to the manager of the facility. If you feel uncomfortable, a free, independent Health and Disability advocate can help. Ring 0800 555 050.

• If you're not satisfied with the response, you can complain to the district health board, HealthCert or the Health and Disability Commissioner.

– Source: Waikato District Health Board



* Audio courtesy of RNZ.