Daniel Andrews too eager to shift blame on aged care coronavirus crisis
After weeks of dealing with a disaster of his own making, Daniel Andrews has shifted the blame for the crisis in aged care to Canberra but not everyone in the federal government is pleased with Victoria’s role in trying to stem the horrific outbreak.
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Aged care is the federal government’s problem. That would have been clear to anyone who watched Daniel Andrews on Tuesday.
“These private facilities are not run by the Victorian government but that doesn’t matter,” the Premier said.
“The commonwealth has asked for our help and that’s exactly what they’ll get.”
After weeks dealing with a disaster of his own making, Mr Andrews appeared more comfortable shifting the blame for the coronavirus crisis in aged care homes to Canberra.
The federal government happily accepted his help. But senior figures ranged between miffed and angry at the way in which Mr Andrews framed his intervention.
Scott Morrison does not shy away from the systemic problems in aged care. Indeed, he ordered a royal commission.
Horrific COVID-19 outbreaks in Victorian aged care homes may have been fuelled by mistakes and mismanagement. However, as federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said on Tuesday, the situation was ultimately the result of widespread community transmission.
“No training will stop you from spreading something you don’t know you have,” he said.
Prior to the creation of a joint response centre on the weekend, there was a disconnect between the state and federal governments.
Providers reported delays in testing and tracing of positive cases. When staff were diagnosed, Victorian authorities stood down many of their colleagues because they were close contacts. This left the federal government scrambling to find replacement workers.
According to several commonwealth sources, this was exacerbated by Victorian hospitals pushing back against operators wanting to transfer COVID-19 patients.
Epping Gardens — where 61 residents have been infected — had tried unsuccessfully to transfer its first cases since July 20. Bigger providers including Bupa also encountered roadblocks.
While national advice suggests those decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, some in the federal government encouraged more transfers, given they were juggling workforce shortages at virus-hit facilities and were worried about inadequate care.
Joe Buffone, the ex-Country Fire Authority chief now managing the joint aged care response, said on Tuesday: “In some instances, we are running out of people.”
This point had been conveyed to the state government several times in recent days. The federal government urged Mr Andrews to suspend elective surgery, freeing up hospital beds for aged care residents.
State government sources said any reluctance was purely about logistics.
“It’s not something that can just happen, there is a lot to be considered, numbers need to be looked at and hospitals need to be consulted with,” a senior official said.
On Sunday, federal Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy spoke to the deputy secretary of Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services about elective surgery, who agreed to pursue pausing category two procedures.
It is understood Mr Morrison then requested the pause in a text message to Mr Andrews at 9.30am on Monday, as Victorian authorities began working with private hospitals on the move.
The Herald Sun has been told the state’s crisis council of cabinet agreed to suspend elective surgery on Monday afternoon. But the federal government believed was still some reluctance about the intervention that night.
Several sources said it took the Prime Minister forcing the issue with Mr Andrews on Tuesday morning for the decision to be made.
Mr Morrison then cut short a trip to Queensland to return to Canberra for further crisis talks.
Throughout the pandemic, the two governments have largely avoided a public blame game, but the stress was showing on Tuesday.
Mr Andrews said he would not want in his mother in some aged care homes, prompting an emotional defence of staff from Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, who said it was a “dangerous statement”.
“I will not hear a word against them,” Mr Hunt said.
A federal source later remarked that with the aged care crisis likely to get worse before it gets better, both governments needed to be careful about the words they used about each other too.
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