St Basil’s aged care charged over fatal COVID cluster

St Basil’s the Melbourne aged care home, run by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, where 45 people died from COVID-19 in 2020, and an additional five residents died from neglect, has been charged by the workplace safety watchdog.

WorkSafe alleges that in July 2020, after the home was notified, a worker tested positive to COVID-19, St Basil’s failed to require workers to wear personal protective equipment.

The facility allegedly failed to train workers how to safely wear and remove protective equipment, or verify that staff were competent using it, tell staff when it should be used and supervise its use.

WorkSafe Victoria on Monday July 4, announced it charged St Basil’s Homes for the Aged with nine breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act WorkSafe said total of nine charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 against St Basil’s “have now been issued in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria”.

The charges include a failure to provide or maintain systems of work; a failure to provide such information and instruction to your employees; a failure to provide such supervision to your employees; three charges under s23(1) of a failure to ensure persons other than your employees were not exposed to risks to their health or safety; and three charges under s26 (1) for a failure to ensure that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it were safe and without risk to health.

WorkSafe will organise a Zoom meeting to “explain the court process” and provide St Basil’s with regular updates as this matter progresses through the court system.Ninety-four residents and the same number of staff tested positive for COVID-19, with 45 people dying from complications from the virus.

The maximum penalty for each of St Basil’s alleged offences is a fine of $1.49 million.

The safety watchdog’s investigation took 23 months and involved the review of thousands of pages of documents and multiple witness interviews, WorkSafe said.

The St Basil’s matter is listed for a filing hearing at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on August 1.