
{"id":28877,"date":"2026-07-14T12:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T02:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/?p=28877"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T02:09:02","slug":"important-letter-to-families-and-representatives-at-whiddon-maclean-mareeba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/important-letter-to-families-and-representatives-at-whiddon-maclean-mareeba\/","title":{"rendered":"Important Letter to Families and Representatives at Whiddon Maclean Mareeba"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Families and Representatives,<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Further to the\u00a0recent\u00a0communication we\u00a0sent\u00a0you\u00a0on\u00a024<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> June , today we have received further information regarding this matter. A former employee of our home has been\u00a0\u00a0arrested and charged in relation to the alleged sexual assault of a resident. This news is\u00a0\u00a0deeply distressing and will come as a shock to our beautiful community. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We understand this news will be upsetting for residents, families and our wider community. We want to provide you with the information we are able to share at this time. We expect that there will be media stories about the arrest and want to keep you informed as the issue unfolds. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Police investigation commenced following a report that an assistant nurse had allegedly sexually assaulted a resident between November 2023 and February 2024. Whiddon was only recently notified that Police were conducting an investigation and has cooperated fully with their enquiries.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As soon as we became aware of the allegations, we reported the matter to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and have continued to work closely with the relevant authorities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Police have advised that the matter relates to one resident. We have been supporting the resident and their family and understand that no other residents or employees have been identified as being involved. Based on the information currently available to us, we believe this to be an isolated incident.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While the alleged offence is reported to have occurred before Whiddon commenced management of the home, we have commenced our own review to ensure our safeguards, screening practices and procedures remain robust and continue to protect the safety and wellbeing of residents.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We also want to reassure you that Whiddon maintains rigorous recruitment, screening and compliance processes, including mandatory background checks and ongoing workforce monitoring, to help ensure the highest standards of care and safety.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As this matter is now before the courts, we are unable to provide further detail regarding the charges or the individual involved. However, we are committed to supporting residents, families and representatives during this difficult time.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you have any questions or concerns and would like to speak with someone privately, please contact Sharon at Reception on (02) 6645 2966.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We will also arrange an opportunity for families and representatives to meet with us to discuss any concerns and will provide further information as it becomes available.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Thank you for your patience,\u00a0understanding\u00a0and continued trust.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kind regards,<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Whiddon Team<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Families and Representatives, Further to the\u00a0recent\u00a0communication we\u00a0sent\u00a0you\u00a0on\u00a024th June , today we have received further information regarding this matter. A former employee of our home has been\u00a0\u00a0arrested and charged in relation to the alleged sexual assault of a resident. This news is\u00a0\u00a0deeply distressing and will come as a shock to our beautiful community. \u00a0 We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28878,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28877\/revisions\/28878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/comms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}