Arcare Maidstone accused of urging worker to keep working instead of isolating after Covid test
An employee at an aged-care home dealing with an outbreak claims management urged them to attend shifts while awaiting results of a Covid test.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An aged-care home at the centre of Victoria’s worsening coronavirus outbreak has been accused of encouraging potentially exposed staff to work instead of isolating at home.
An employee at Arcare Maidstone reported to the Health Workers Union that management urged them to attend their shifts while awaiting test results, despite being told by health department officials to isolate for 14 days.
Arcare has denied the claims, while the union labelled it deeply concerning.
The worker alleged they had even offered to use annual leave to isolate but were repeatedly told by management to “go to work and not to worry”.
Health Workers Union secretary Diana Asmar said the allegations were of deep concern.
“Aged-care providers must adhere to strict Department of Health rules and guidelines. It’s not negotiable,” she said.
“We simply can’t have a situation where workers are bullied or threatened by their supervisors or senior management into working when they should be isolating.”
Ms Asmar accused the private aged-care sector of being “motivated solely by greed and profit”, and staff and residents were “usually afterthoughts”.
The Maidstone home has been listed as a tier 1 and tier 2 exposure site, meaning staff must isolate for 14 days or until returning a negative test, depending on their whereabouts in the centre they worked.
Arcare, which rejected the claim, said staff were being paid while self-isolating, and management was “fully supportive of all measures being put in place to protect team members and isn’t pressuring anyone to work”.
It comes as other staff at the centre admitted to working across several homes, sparking fears the deadly virus could spread to other centres.
Victoria banned staff working in more than one publicly run home amid the disastrous second wave that claimed the lives of 655 aged-care residents.
The federal government lifted the ban on private care centres in November, reinstating it only when Victoria was deemed a hotspot last week. About 4.7 per cent of aged-care workers are employed across several sites in Melbourne.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt defended the decision not to enforce single-site restrictions earlier, saying it was only a proportionate response when there was community transmission before Thursday.
“It is critical we can have testing staff move between sites, vaccination staff move between sites, clinical first responders,” he said.
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said providers could apply for grants to cover the out-of-pocket costs of limiting staff to one site.
Ms Asmar said the highly casualised nature of the sector meant it was common practice for staff to work across several private residential facilities, labelling a multi-site outbreak “a disaster waiting to happen”.
Council on the Ageing chief executive, Ian Yates, said staff availability would be affected if workers were encouraged to work at only one home outside of outbreaks.
SOBERING REMINDER OF DARKEST DAYS OF 2020
On Monday afternoon, a frail 99-year-old woman strapped to a gurney and wearing a mask and face shield was wheeled out of a nursing home to a patient transport van.
Two medical staff, covered head to toe in personal protective equipment, carefully guided the stretcher as the woman, diagnosed with coronavirus, held her head in her hands.
Monday’s scenes at Arcare in Maidstone were reminiscent of the nightmare that unfolded in nursing homes during last year’s second wave, which killed 655 aged care residents.
Families were last night praying 2021 would be different.
The current outbreak has already infiltrated two-aged care homes, Arcare in Maidstone and BlueCross Western Gardens in Sunshine, with fears other sites may have been exposed.
The 99-year-old woman was last night being monitored in hospital.
A female staffer in her 50s worked for two days while infectious at Arcare in Maidstone.
She remains a mystery case, with health authorities yet to determine where she contracted the virus.
It’s believed the woman infected her son, the 99-year-old resident, and a colleague.
The colleague also works at nearby BlueCross Western Gardens home in Sunshine, which has gone into full lockdown.
Residents at both Arcare in Maidstone and BlueCross Western Gardens are confined to their rooms — cut off from the friends and loved ones — in a desperate bid to keep them from contracting the virus.
BlueCross chief executive Robert Putamorsi said 76 per cent of residents had received their first vaccination.
Residents at Arcare in Maidstone looked out of their windows on Monday as a stream of medical staff came and went from the home.
Peta Soorkia’s mother, Mary Delilah Barkshire, 91, is one of more than 70 vulnerable residents confined to their rooms.
“It’s very hard for these elderly people to be stuck in one room, but what other choice do we have if we want them safe,” Ms Soorkia said.
“I’m so grateful that she’s in a good aged care facility. We feel very lucky.”
She said her mum received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on May 12 but had a “sniffle” last week, which meant she had already endured her own “private lockdown” for five days. It was “concerning” only 34 of 110 staff had received their first vaccination before Monday, she said.
Tony Di Paolo’s father, Peter, 92, is also stuck inside the Maidstone centre.
“I have had conversations with dad but (he) doesn’t really understand what’s going on. I don’t want to put him under undue stress. (I just want to) keep him calm and pray that they’re doing the right thing,” Mr Di Paolo said.
Spiros Dimitriou’s father John was a resident of St Basil’s care home and died in last year’s outbreak.
“The federal government has had enough time to get it right so it’s very disappointing,” he said. “Minister Hunt is smiling, getting his vaccine done, yet we’ve left the aged-care sector again. They (the sector) were promised millions of dollars, where is it?”
“They said they would stop workers going to different homes ... some ministers should be held accountable.
“We shouldn’t have had to experience what we did and neither should anyone else now.”
There was relief on Monday when two Royal Freemasons aged-care homes were cleared to “stand down” from a one-day lockdown after two separate employees returned negative results.
They had come into contact with a positive case before working at the Footscray site and Coppin Centre.
With Mitch Clarke, Aneeka Simonis, Laura Placella, Grace McKinnon
Health boss who played key role in Victoria’s Covid response stands down
The Department of Health secretary who became a public figure making tough and controversial decisions during the pandemic will depart amid a leadership reshuffle.
Read more
Sutton dragged into legal fight on cancelled Robbie Williams gig
A war of words has broken out about former Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s involvement in the decision to pull the pin on Robbie Williams’ Grand Prix concert.
Read more