Newmarch House: ALA advocate Catherine Henry calls for inquiry following tragic COVID-19 deaths
A crusader for better aged care across the country, Newcastle solicitor Catherine Henry is calling for an inquiry following the 16th resident death at Newmarch House in Sydney.
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Newcastle solicitor and aged care crusader Catherine Henry has called for a “Ruby Princess style” inquiry into the coronavirus-stricken aged care facility in Sydney.
Anglicare’s Newmarch House nursing home has had 16 residents die from COVID-19, with another resident dying overnight after previously testing positive to the virus.
Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) advocate, Ms Henry said an inquiry into the Newmarch tragedies is urgently needed to highlight the desperate need for reform in the sector.
“We’ve seen daily reports of deaths, many of which may well have been avoidable,” she said.
“The government needs to go further than Federal Labor’s call for the aged care royal commission to review the disaster and we need a dedicated inquiry.
“The residents of Newmarch House and their families have legal rights and, as a community, we need to understand what went wrong in the management of the outbreak at this facility.
“It’s a way of holding aged care providers to account and changing practices.”
Ms Henry said COVID-19 has been able to shine a light on avoidable deaths at aged care facilities right across the country and how prevalent they really are.
She said what’s unfolded at Newmarch House is failure to meet acceptable standards and it’s not good enough.
“It’s scandalous what has happened at Newmarch house,” added Ms Henry.
“It’s clear they haven’t had appropriate infectious disease management, they haven’t had adequate PPE equipment.
“It’s clear critically ill residents haven’t been transferred to hospital and haven’t been given access to medical personnel.
“It is inexplicable, and has resulted in a very distressing and tragic situation for the residents and their families.”
When contacted, Anglicare said it had been liaising with federal and state government agencies and industry peak bodies regarding the outbreak.
One of the agencies they have been working closely with is the Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) who believes a thorough analysis is required to help guard against these tragedies in the future.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life at Newmarch House and the extent of the local COVID-19 outbreak,” LASA CEO Sean Rooney said.
“The aged care system and the wider community need to understand where things could have been improved in the response from all parties, and an extensive examination of potential lessons learned, so we can do better.
“The Royal Commission has committed to considering the COVID-19 outbreak at Newmarch House in its processes, with public submissions extended until 30 June.
“Our thoughts are particularly with families and friends of Newmarch House who have lost loved ones.
“Relative to services in other countries, Australian aged care facilities and their dedicated staff are performing well in protecting residents from coronavirus.”
Ms Henry is also calling for a change to the aged care act to ensure transparency and accountability and to include an independent tribunal to hear complaints of substandard care.
The ALA has recommended that the tribunal’s function should include the capacity to hear complaints with powers to issue fines; cancel accreditation; publicly reprimand providers; and order monetary compensation.
“The current system places undue focus on internal complaint mechanisms. We believe the sector needs an independent, external tribunal like the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission,” Ms Henry said.
“Something has to change, we need exposure.”