Returned Australians hitting breaking point in medi-hotel system, warn frontline mental health staff

Controversy swirling around hotel quarantine is adding to the distress of traumatised and financially broken Australians stuck inside them, mental health workers warn.

Australians quarantining in Adelaide medi-hotels are becoming more distressed as the pandemic progresses, say counsellors of a frontline support service pleading for greater community compassion.

They say negative political, media and public commentary on the state’s hotel-quarantine system is a contributing factor impacting the mental health of its current 1100 quarantining occupants.

“We’ve certainly noticed a shift in the degree of trauma in the last six months – it’s been distressing for the guests in quarantine,” said Amanda Urquhart, Uniting Communities SA Covid-19 Mental Health Support Line senior practitioner.

“A lot of our therapeutic work has been around supporting people with loss and grief,” said Ms Urquhart.

Uniting Communities SA Covid-19 Mental Health Support Line senior practitioners Mario Villalta and Amanda Urquhart. Picture: Mark Brake

She said the majority of returning Australians now in medi-hotels have spent up to a year under significant duress trying to get back home, or have returned from an overseas mercy dash to say their last goodbyes to dying loved ones – many of them not making it in time.

It has been reported that returning Australians have had to sell or abandon homes, leave jobs, leave loved ones, and beg and borrow to pay for cost-inflated flights that have been cancelled multiple times and have left them stranded in third countries without support or money for months.

“The financial stress being experienced in the hotels is through the roof,” said Ms Urquhart.

“Many now have debts and have come back to Australia with nothing – no job, no home, no support,” she said.

“We have people who have gone from quarantine hotels into homelessness – sleeping in cars.”

The: Playford Hotel in Adelaide has been at the heart of the most recent quarantine controversy. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Support line counsellor Yasmin said: “There are many multiple times that people tell me what is making them feel worse is that they’re hearing or reading comments that they shouldn’t be here or why weren’t they back her earlier.

“So it’s really important for us to welcome people home because they have not heard that from anyone.” Yasmin did not want to be identified due to the sensitive nature of her work supporting quarantine guests.

The next group of up to 150 medi-hotel arrivals are due to land from India next month.

Now operating for just over a year, the support line run by Uniting Communities for SA Health has made more than 25,000 contacts.

The majority of these have been mental health and wellbeing checks for every one of the 22,000 people checked in to Adelaide’s hotel quarantine system since last year, as well as general community calls for help.

For assistance, call the SA COVID-19 mental health Support Line on 1800 632 753, from 8am to 8pm every day.