A NSW woman whose mother was found with maggots in her mouth at a nursing home near Newcastle wants an inquiry to ensure no other families endure similar elder neglect.
Jayne Carter said "embarrassed" staff at the Opal Raymond Terrace Gardens admitted to the incident in October as the health of her mother, Shirley, who suffered from dementia, deteriorated.
Initially, she was shocked and numb, but said her reaction soon turned to anger.
"I went and sat down with her and I was more and more disturbed, more angry and more betrayed," she told the ABC on Tuesday.
Ms Carter was urged by both staff at the centre and its head office to keep the incident quiet. Her mother died the following day.
"The longer I thought about it, the angrier I got," Ms Carter said.
She believes her mother had not eaten or drunk for a week before her death.
Opal Aged Care managing director Gary Barnier says his team "sincerely apologised" to the family for the incident which "did not meet our high standards".
"The care of our residents is our absolute priority and as such we have stringent training policies," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shirley received oral checks every four hours, rather than every two hours as was meant to occur, Mr Barnier said.
After the incident, the home's care manager and facility manager were fired, and other staff involved were given a full day of palliative care workshops.
Ms Carter took her case to the Health Complaints Commission and received an apology.
Commissioner Rae Lamb wasn't able to comment on the specific case but in a statement said: "In all cases where we have received a complaint, we work with the complainant and the service to ensure whatever has happened is addressed and appropriate action is taken to fix it."
Ms Carter says she isn't chasing monetary compensation but wants public acknowledgement of the ordeal. She's keen to ensure no other family suffers similarly.
"I want justice for all of the people in aged care," she said.
"We're required to respect our elders."
The NSW government in January supported 11 recommendations from an inquiry into elder abuse that began in 2015.
It investigated the prevalence of financial, physical, sexual and psychological abuse as well as neglect.
The recommendations included the introduction of a comprehensive, co-ordinated approach to preventing abuse and an expansion of the state's elder abuse helpline.
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