The report released on Melbourne Cup Day revealed that aged care residents were left malnourished and neglected in the last days of their lives when the second wave of the pandemic swept through Melbourne’s nursing homes in July 2020 and regular staff were replaced by government-appointed replacement staff.
A number of Greek Australians were affected by the crisis, and the new Independent Review of COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities reveals that some residents were left unidentified due to a lack of records. The section, subtitled “no time for complacency”, was conducted by Professor Lyn Gilbert and Adjunct Professor Alan Lilly, who handed the report to federal government on 30 April.
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said the government accepted the 38 recommendations outlined in the report in regards to staffing improvements and clinical care.
The report referred to residents’ care plans which, during the outbreak, “were often missing, inaccessible or out of date”. Worst still, apart from the language barriers, there were residents who “could not be identified”.
The report pointed to residents becoming “dangerously deconditioned, malnourished or dehydrated” and referred to their “isolation, loneliness and neglect.”
“Serious medical complications occurred because of medication errors or delays. Constant staff turnover often meant that meaningful, clinical handover, between shifts was difficult,” the report said.
Redeployed nursing relief was inadequate, “too late to prevent devastating consequences”, said the report.
Advice in the sector was “contradictory and confusing”.
READ MORE: Elder Rights Advocacy holding a meeting for families connected to St Basil
Aged and Community Services Australia Chief Executive Paul Sadler said that, despite the government’s acceptance of recommendations, providers would need extra funding to implement these, especially the need for adequate staff numbers during a health crisis.
Families of elderly residents who died at St Basil’s have blasted the federal government for its failure to acknowledge federal responsibility for the 806 deaths due to COVID-19. They would like to see accountability.
The first public hearing against St Basil’s Aged Care facility in Fawkner is set to take place on 15 November.
Greek Australian lawyer John Karantzis of Carbone Lawyers had told Neos Kosmos in August that he asked for the Coroners Court to avoid further delays.
