Susie O’Brien: Our elderly deserve so much better

As leaders quibble over whether the aged care sector is in “crisis” elderly people are locked up, lonely and dying. It’s time to reframe the pandemic and make them a priority.

It’s time to reframe the Covid pandemic as an aged-care issue, rather than one affecting the whole community.

This would mean many of the nonsensical restrictions holding the rest of us back could be withdrawn, and more resources could be diverted to where most of the deaths are.

While nearly 600 sad, lonely, confused people have died in aged care homes around the country so far this year, the rest of us are still being asked to fill in QR codes that are no longer being used.

Cafes and restaurants are subject to density limits that don’t make sense.

Kids over eight are required to wear masks in indoor settings outside the home, including in class.

And schools are making double-vaxxed siblings and parents with no symptoms who are household contacts of cases miss a whole week of class.

While there’s been a spike in the number of cases in schools, few children are getting sick.

The figures tell the story. The fatality rate by age ranges from 0.1 per cent in kids to a terrifying 50 per cent for those in their 90s.

While hundreds of people have died in aged care homes around the country so far this year, the rest of us are still being asked to fill in QR codes. Picture: Ian Currie

According to the latest federal data, the median age of cases is 30 but the median age of death is 82.

Overall, Victoria has had 884,841 people catch the virus and 2171 deaths. That’s a death rate of 0.2 per cent.

But the Victorian aged-care sector has had 5721 cases and 881 deaths. That’s a death rate of 15 per cent.

Three quarters of those who die with Covid have pre-existing chronic conditions, most commonly dementia, according to ABS figures from July 2021.

As federal Health Minister Greg Hunt revealed recently, 60 per cent of those who die with Covid are in palliative care.

But being in palliative care doesn’t mean someone is about to die. Some people spend years in palliative care and should have a good standard of living – and a “good” death.

What they don’t deserve is to die alone after spending months locked up alone.

There is no doubt the aged-care sector is in dire straits thanks to Covid.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says 60 per cent of those who die with Covid are in palliative care. Picture: David Crosling

There are some aged-care homes in this state that have had as many as 45 deaths from 249 cases and the sector continues to operate in crisis conditions.

Hunt says aged care has been a priority area since the beginning. So why, then, are nearly half of the country’s aged-care facilities battling outbreaks which mean elderly people are locked in their rooms for weeks on end?

At this point 40,000 residents in aged-care homes are yet to receive booster shots, and only 40 per cent of people who care for them are triple vaxxed. In some centres the figure is as low as 17 per cent.

Something needs to be done to jolt our politicians into doing a much better job in managing the pandemic, particularly in aged care.

While elderly people with Covid continue to die in record numbers, Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck spent three days at the cricket and says the sector is performing “exceptionally well”.

And the country’s leaders aren’t much better, with the deputy Prime Minister and senior MPs engaged in multiple text-based slanging matches.

While elderly people with Covid continue to die in record numbers, Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck spent three days at the cricket. Picture: AAP

Leaders spend their time setting up more taskforces to tell them what they already know and quibbling over whether the sector is in “crisis” or not. Richard Colbeck says no, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison says yes.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton says there is “no limit” on what the government is willing to do. But this is different from taking immediate action that makes a difference

In the meantime, vulnerable, ill, old people are dying alone.

Staff are leaving in droves, and instead of giving them a pay rise, the Prime Minister is giving them an $800 election bribe.

The sector has had two major reports into the 2020 aged-care outbreaks and yet by the end of January more than 30,000 residents and staff in the sector caught Covid.

We know what not to do, but we don’t seem capable of doing it.

Leaders spend their time quibbling over whether the aged care sector is in ‘crisis’ or not.

Priorities should include:

• Fixing the botched vaccine booster rollout;

• Bringing in more Army personnel to do cleaning and infection control roles in aged care;

• Removing restrictions for less affected sectors such as retail, childcare and schools to free up resources and end supply-chain problems; and

• Do more to end lockdowns in aged care so lonely residents can finally see their loved ones.

Covid is deadly, but so is depression, isolation, malnutrition and neglect arising from poor care.

This is the issue the election should be fought over: our elderly people deserve nothing less.

Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist