Report into Prince Charles Hospital Covid-19 outbreak exposes ‘failure in system’

An investigation into a Brisbane hospital Covid-19 outbreak that plunged Greater Brisbane and parts of the state’s north into lockdown has found no wrongdoing by health officials, or the unvaccinated worker who unknowingly spread the virus.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to accept that a loophole allowed an unvaccinated receptionist outside a Covid ward to fall ill and trigger Brisbane and Townsville’s snap lockdown.

Despite promising months ago “someone will be held responsible” for why the worker wasn’t protected, Ms Palaszczuk said she now accepted “no one was responsible” according to the findings of infectious diseases expert Paul Griffin.

But Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the system had obviously let the community down, and someone should answer for that.

The Prince Charles Hospital on Brisbane’s northside

An investigation into The Prince Charles Hospital’s Covid-19 outbreak found no wrongdoing by health officials or the 19-year-old receptionist who unknowingly took the virus on holiday to Magnetic Island.

Frustrated government ministers and a “furious” Premier pledged an investigation into why the worker was not part of the state’s 1A vaccine rollout for frontline workers as they demanded answers.

But Dr Griffin’s report revealed the woman had not been required to enter the Covid-19 ward and so had not been required to be vaccinated.

A Queensland Health directive one month earlier stipulated workers providing intermittent care to Covid-positive patients must be vaccinated and regularly tested to protect community health.

“As the concierge was not required to enter and did not enter the Covid-19 ward and did not provide occasional or intermittent care to a Covid-19 positive patient, they were not required by the direction to be vaccinated,” the report found.

Ms Palaszczuk said the report found “no one is to be held responsible and I accept that” and would not be drawn on whether there had been a gap in the health directive.

Mr Crisafulli said systems in place “weren’t up to scratch and clearly there are lessons to be learnt”.

“Somebody has got to be held accountable for that, surely.”

Infectious diseases expert Paul Griffin led the review.

The receptionist was stationed behind a perspex shield about 15m outside the main entrance of The Prince Charles Hospital’s Covid-19 ward and was forced to exit the facility during the transfer of Covid-19 patients into the ward.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the government wouldn’t “go trying to find someone to punish when the report says there is no wrongdoing here”.

“We can’t criticise the people who made the policies at the time because one person who isn’t directly involved in the ward themselves got infected.”

Asked about the language at the time from herself and the Premier, Ms D’Ath said they were “very passionate and upset at the time” and worried about the implications of an outbreak.

“We did the right thing – we didn’t race off and go, ‘you’re responsible your head must roll’,” she said.

It’s still not known how the worker contracted the virus, with Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young saying that may never be clear.