Minda nursing home to face serious staffing shortages as vaccine mandate hits
A nursing home that cares for Minda’s “most vulnerable clients” faces serious staffing issues after two senior employees refused Covid jabs – and from today will be denied access to the site.
SA News
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A nursing home that cares for embattled disability provider Minda’s “most vulnerable clients” is expected to face serious staffing issues when a vaccine mandate takes effect next week.
The two most senior clinical and operational employees at the Pat Kaufmann Centre nursing home will not be allowed to access the site from Monday, when all workers are required to have had at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.
Both are unvaccinated and have no intention of presenting for a vaccine.
The Advertiser understands one has been told he could not fulfil the duties of his role without being on-site, and both are expecting they will be formally stood down, then terminated.
They have been asked not to speak to their colleagues or the families of clients about the situation, but a source said their absence is expected to have a significant impact on the care of clients.
“The effect will be enormous,” the source said. “There will be no management or clinical oversight in Pat Kaufmann Centre”.
The centre, located on Minda’s Brighton campus, is also known as the complex care unit and accommodates about 50 NDIS clients who require clinical oversight because of their complex medical and disability-related needs.
Current and former Minda employees said staff at the centre were specialised and they were concerned that alternative solutions, including redeployment, had not been considered by the organisation.
The vaccine mandate for public hospital workers took effect last Monday, while nearly all remaining workers must have had at least one vaccine dose by this Monday – November 8.
In a statement, a Minda spokesman said staff at the centre come under phase two of the healthcare vaccine mandate because there are allied health professionals and general practitioners in the building.
The company said no employees had yet been stood down because of the direction.
“We have been working with affected staff to manage personal circumstances while ensuring the organisation complies with the health directions,” the statement said.
In a statement, SA Health said it was Minda’s responsibility to enforce the mandate.
“Private health sites are responsible for their own staff and compliance for these would sit with the individual sites,” a spokesman said.
Opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook called on the government to step in and provide support for clients.
“We cannot have our most vulnerable residents at further risk,” she said.
The disability provider has recently been plagued by controversy, with allegations emerging of chronic staff shortages and squalid living conditions.
It comes after the departure of several senior staff members in recent months, including the chief executive officer and chief operations officer.
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