St Basil’s Home for the Aged operators asked the coroner to excuse them from giving evidence at the Coronial Inquest into the deaths of 50 residents during the COVID-19 outbreak last year.
Kon Kontis and Vicki Kos ran the facility in July last year when the virus swept through. They were due to give evidence early next week, but in a surprise move late on Tuesday the barrister speaking for them asked that they may be excused.
The operators of St Basil’s have asked the coroner to excuse them from giving evidence on the grounds they may incriminate themselves.
Coroner John Cain will hear submissions from interested parties before making a ruling regarding this request.
READ MORE: St Basil’s coronial inquest: Evidence points to early failures in ‘preventable tragedy’
There have been many reports of St Basil’s management’s reaction to the decision for a replacement staff. Heleni Bagiartakis told the inquest that Ms Kos would not accept phone calls regarding the clinical care of residents after she was stood down.
“I don’t remember the exact words. The message though was, ‘It wasn’t our decision, we don’t agree with the decision, therefore it’s not our problem’,” Ms Bagiartakis said.
