Nursing home showbags: Funeral home Allison Monkhouse accused of ‘ambulance chasing’

The funeral home accused of ‘ambulance chasing’ after leaving branded gifts for dying patients on Christmas day said they were asked to do so.

Clive Allison, managing director at Allison Monkhouse, told Nick McCallum the nursing homes had requested the controversial showbags, and feedback was otherwise positive.

The matter came to a head on Thursday when a Word On The Street caller told 3AW ‘there were a couple of patients in palliative care who weren’t happy about it’.

In response from Bangkok today, Mr Allison said they were yet to receive any such feedback themselves.

‘We were approached by a number of nursing home retirement villages who said ‘Look, can you find something to put together at Christmas time for people who don’t get presents from family?’,’ he said.

‘All we got was positive statements when we presented (the gift bags) to them.’

Mr Allison said he hadn’t received any other complaints about the gifts, and encouraged any offended patients or family to contact Allison Monkhouse.

‘We’re not out to offend people,’ he said.

Click play to hear the full response from Allison Monkhouse

Click play to hear the original Word on the Street call