Hotel quarantine inquiry hears from an authorised officer that quit because he feared the worst
An authorised officer told the hotel quarantine inquiry he was given no training in PPE and felt so unsafe he quit, while quarantined guests said they feared the worst.
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A public servant seconded to work in Victoria’s highly infectious COVID hotels program was given equity and diversity training but taught nothing about infection control.
In another damning day of evidence to the quarantine inquiry, a quarantined nurse also told how she feared her family had become “sitting ducks’’ due to poor infection standards at the hotels.
Luke Ashford, a ranger team leader with Parks Victoria seconded to the DHHS as an authorised officer, told how he worked for a month before “ending my secondment with DHHS immediately due to the Department not being able to provide a safe workplace.’’
Mr Ashford said he had resigned effective immediately on June 18 after being told to show up for a shift despite a colleague who he had been carpooling and socialising with being deemed a close contact of a COVID-positive guest at another hotel.
He said he had worked at seven different hotels over 15-20 shifts.
“And given what I saw and the fact that I didn’t feel it was being taken seriously enough, that hygiene and that PPE and the environment to work in … I was concerned for my health and the health of my family,’’ he said.
Mr Ashford said he had undergone online training on how to use an authorised officer app, and an hour of equity and diversity training, but no infection control, and no training on personal protective equipment, when he started the new role.
He said no-one properly followed up his complaints when he resigned.
“Even that’s disappointing, there’s lessons to be learnt there and no-one sort of tapped into that or sought to understand … why and what went wrong.’’
In a telling exchange with counsel assisting the inquiry Ben Ihle, Mr Ashford said he had no formal information about what he was supposed to do as an authorised officer
He did not know where in the hotel he was supposed to go for his first shift, and received no specialised training, other than the online course on how to use an app, and an hour’s “standard employee equity and diversity training.’’
“Other than that there was no training,’’ he said.
Brisbane couple Sue and Ron Erasmus, who were held at the Stamford Plaza after flying in from India with their two young daughters, told the inquiry the “whole thing was very poorly organised.
“Communication was appalling and inconsistent and added to the overall stress of the information. It was clear the security guards didn’t understand how or why they were to use PPE or have any first aid training.’’
Mrs Erasmus, a nurse, said she became deeply concerned that the windows of the hotel could not be opened and there was no separation of ventilation.
“At times we could smell cigarette smoke from the upper levels. And so I became aware that if we could smell cigarette smoke, if there was droplet infection, you know, airborne … if there was an interconnection with somebody who had the virus, that we were at high risk of getting it,’’ she said.
Mrs Erasmus said this, combined with guards handling their food and travelling between hotels meant “the possibility was that we were pretty much sitting ducks.’’
“We were just hoping that we would be OK.’’
Another detained guest, Liliana Ratcliff, said the security guards working at the hotel were “very lovely people’’ who were considerate of the fact she had children with her and tried to make their stay pleasant.
Ms Ratcliff, who has a Masters degree in public health and has worked in hospitals for 20 years, said “but I was not observing infection control”.
“I made the assumption they didn’t understand infection control … the lack of gloves, the trying to get in the lift, the standing close and talking to each other.’’
Ms Ratcliff said given infection control issues, high risk patients and mental health concerns, detained guests who tested negative should have been allowed to quarantine at home.
The DHHS dropped its attempts to seek an order requiring the media to report evidence given by a nurse relating to a guest’s suicide in a particular way.
DHHS barrister Claire Harris told inquiry chair Jennifer Coate the department “really wishes to draw no further attention to the matter’’ and would no longer seek the orders.
“I’m pleased to hear that, Ms Harris,’’ Ms Coate replied.
The inquiry continues on Monday.
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LACK OF TRAINING AT THE HEART OF BOTCHED HOTEL PROGRAM