The Australian Government has released the findings of the independent review into COVID-19 outbreaks at two Victorian aged care facilities: Heritage Care\u2019s Epping Gardens and St Basil\u2019s Home for the Aged.
\nMinister for Health, Greg Hunt said the report underlined the critical elements that led to the tragic outbreaks at the height of the second wave of community transmission across Melbourne following the Victorian Hotel Quarantine failures as outlined in today\u2019s Inquiry.
\nIt highlights the vital role the Commonwealth played to support the residents, staff and management affected by the outbreaks and underlines the lessons from both incidents.
\nForty-five residents at St Basil\u2019s Home for the Aged and 38 residents at Heritage Care\u2019s Epping Gardens passed away.
\n\u201cIn extending our sincere condolences to the families of those who died, this investigation serves as a platform for understanding and action,\u201d Minister Hunt said.
\n\u201cI would like to acknowledge the role of residents and families in the preparation of the report during what clearly has been a very difficult time.\u201d
\nAs part of the Government\u2019s considerations, a briefing for families with the authors of the report has been arranged ahead of its release.
\n\u201cThe health and wellbeing of senior Australians \u2013 and the workers who care for them \u2013 is of the utmost importance to the Australian Government,\u201d Minister Hunt said.
\n\u201cWe continue to work day and night to safeguard the most vulnerable in our community.\u201d
\nMinister Colbeck said the Australian Government has been adapting the National Response Plan for COVID-19 in aged care since early 2020 and, with the aged care sector, state and territory governments and health authorities, incorporating lessons learned from Australia and other countries.
\nThe review into the two Victorian outbreaks was commissioned to give a voice to those who were directly affected by the tragic events. Its authors are members of the AHPPC\u2019s Aged Care Advisory Group (ACAG) and have been informing the Australian Government since the pandemic started on an ongoing basis.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s important we understand what occurred and what can be learned to make sure we can prevent similar outbreaks now and into the future,\u201d he said.
\nBoth St Basil\u2019s Home for the Aged and Heritage Care\u2019s Epping Gardens remain subject to a Notice to Agree (NTA) issued by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
\nA Notice to Agree is a serious enforcement measure which, if ignored, can lead to the approval to provide Australian Government subsidies being revoked, and comes at a cost to the provider.
\nMinister Colbeck said establishing the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC) and significant actions by the Commonwealth Government to support providers to respond to emergency event in aged care is acknowledged in this report.
\nAt the height of the second wave in Victoria, advice from the VACRC, is that there were more than 7,000 aged care staff furloughed who had either contracted COVID-19 or were close contacts.
\nTo find replacements for this many staff was a mammoth task.
\nDuring the outbreak, according to VACRC data, more than 36,000 shifts were filled by replacement staff.
\n\u201cThe coordinating role of the VACRC was found to be a major driver in facilitating effective interagency communications,\u201d Minister Colbeck said.
\nOn 21 August 2020, National Cabinet endorsed the Commonwealth, State and Territory Plan to Boost Aged Care Preparedness for a Rapid Emergency Response to COVID-19.
\nA key component of the plan is the establishment of Aged Care Emergency Response Operations Centres. Within each jurisdictions\u2019 public health response structure, a dedicated aged care emergency response team has been established and key personnel identified at the state and Commonwealth level.
\n\u201cAll jurisdictions have provided assurances that their Aged Care Emergency Response Centres can be stood up within 48 hours,\u201d Minister Colbeck said.
\nThe Australian Government will continue to work collaboratively with the states, the aged care sector, and public health authorities, to adapt and refine the approach to outbreaks in six key areas:<\/p>\n
The Australian Government has now invested $1.8 billion to support older Australians in aged care since the start of the pandemic. This includes $132.2 million in response to the Aged Care Royal Commission\u2019s recommendations on COVID-19. Aged care workers can also access mental health supports available to all Australians including:<\/p>\n The Australian Government has released the findings of the independent review into COVID-19 outbreaks at two Victorian aged care facilities: Heritage Care\u2019s Epping Gardens and St Basil\u2019s Home for the Aged. Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the report underlined the critical elements that led to the tragic outbreaks at the height of the second … Continue reading “Report into COVID-19 outbreaks at St Basil\u2019s and Epping Gardens”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMinister Colbeck acknowledges the work of report authors Professor Lyn Gilbert and Adjunct Professor Alan Lilly and all of the people who have taken part or supported these independent reviews.
\nAs members of ACAG, the desire of the authors was to ensure the key findings from their research could be incorporated directly into advice to the sector.
\nHaving been closely considered by the AHPPC and ACAG, where it has not already occurred, key learnings of the review will be implemented.
\nEvery age care provider and facility leader in Australia should read this report \u2013 it is a powerful additional source of advice and information.
\nThe report on the independent reviews of COVID-19 outbreaks at Heritage Care\u2019s Epping Gardens and St Basil\u2019s Home for the Aged can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.
\nThe release of the report may be confronting for anyone affected by the impact of the pandemic on Australia\u2019s aged care sector. The following support is available:<\/p>\n\n
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