Daniel Andrews’ deadly mistake in Victoria’s aged care coronavirus crisis has been revealed

Last week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was urged to make a critical decision as COVID-19 deaths rose, but he ignored the advice.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews was advised by Australia’s chief medical officer to suspend elective surgeries last week to allow for the evacuation of elderly residents to hospital and the deployment of nurses to tackle the COVID-19 crisis but failed to act, prompting a tense phone call with the Prime Minister.

News.com.au has confirmed that Scott Morrison was forced to intervene and urged Mr Andrews to take action on Monday night and again this morning over the deadly spread of coronavirus in aged care homes.

The Victorian Premier finally relented and announced the move at a press conference today.

There are now 769 active cases linked to nursing homes in the state, with the majority of the rising death toll now affecting seniors living in aged care.

Professor Brendan Murphy, the nation‘s most senior COVID-19 policy adviser, also privately urged Victoria to stop all non urgent elective surgery last week.

The proposal was canvassed in the lead up to last Friday‘s national cabinet meeting but not formally discussed, as experts raised the alarm over the spread of the coronavirus among hundreds of elderly residents.

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News.com.au can reveal that Daniel Andrews was urged to suspend elective surgeries in response to the COVID-19 deaths crisis in nursing homes. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Government sources say Professor Murphy had expected that action to be announced over the weekend as the number of deaths in aged care homes continued to rise.

But instead, the plan to suspend elective surgery was only announced today, after Mr Morrison personally intervened in phone calls to the Premier.

Mr Andrews confirmed the talks at a press conference today where he noted the management of aged care homes was a matter for the Morrison Government.

“I’ve spoken with the Prime Minister. Ministers have been speaking. Officials have been speaking. It was a very long night, but this is a critical challenge,’’ he said.

“I won’t stand here also and say, ‘oh, well, this is just a Commonwealth Government matter’. We don’t run this sector but the residents in these homes are all Victorians. The Commonwealth Government has asked for help and that is exactly what my Government and our agencies will provide to them.”

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A resident of Epping Gardens Aged Care Facility is taken away in an ambulance today. Picture: Getty Images

Earlier, the Prime Minister noted he had “been in contact with Premier Andrews, the Secretary of the Health Department, the Chief Medical Officer, the Acting Chief Medical Officer, who has been working closely with their counterparts in Victoria”.

“The situation remains very concerning and particularly in relation to the aged care situation in Victoria,‘’ Mr Morrison said.

“We have just over 80 facilities out of just over 430 in Victoria which have been affected. Not all severely, but some of those cases have been far more severe.

“And I‘ll be returning to Canberra later this morning to engage directly again. Over the course of this week, I had been planning to be in Queensland for the next few days.”

He described the situation in Victorian aged care facilities as “very complex”.

“You have a combination of the community transmission, which is widespread in Melbourne, finding its way into many facilities and in particular it has found its way into the aged care workforce

“Now, the standing-down, necessarily, of many in that workforce has had a very significant disruption to the provision of care in those facilities. The Commonwealth has been working, including with other states, to ensure that we can plug those gaps wherever we possibly can.

“But I want to be upfront with you – it‘s very difficult and it’s very hard to get people into those positions, particularly given the complexity and difficulty of the situations they’re facing.

“And last night, in particular, we had ADF officers, nurses, being put into a night shift in a Melbourne facility and we were able to arrange that quite late in the evening, about 11pm. And so there is no effort being spared to ensure that we can get the people to the places they need to be.”

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There are now 769 active cases linked to nursing homes in the state. Picture: Getty Images

It‘s one reason why Mr Andrew’s claims he wouldn’t let his mum live in some privately run nursing homes in Victoria, which raised eyebrows in the Morrison Government.

Mr Andrews declared infection control was so poor in some private nursing homes that he would not let his mother be cared for in the aged care facilities.

“I would not let my mum be in some of these places, I just wouldn’t,’’ he said.

“I cannot stand here and tell you that I have confidence that staff and management across a number of private sector aged care facilities are able to provide the care that is appropriate to keep their residents safe.”

The state’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos fought back tears today while discussing the “distressing” situation at St Basil’s aged care and the impact on the tight-knit Greek Community.

“As I explained, it is not always possible to transfer everybody. We have very frail and elderly people in these nursing homes and in some cases they have dementia and it is very challenging and stressful for an elderly person to be moved in those particular circumstances,’’ she said.

“But we will always act on the basis of clinical care advice and we have a team of doctors and nurses available from our hospitals who are assisting these nursing homes and assisting the Commonwealth Government at this very challenging time.”

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos became emotional while talking about the mounting death toll in nursing homes. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

But Health Minister Greg Hunt has slammed the Victorian Premier‘s claim he wouldn’t let him mum live in some private aged care facilities.

An emotional Mr Hunt revealed today his own father had lived in an aged care facility in the final days of his life and he didn‘t believe casting blame over the COVID-19 outbreak was useful.

“My father lived in one, yes. It‘s a difficult decision for any family and it’s a difficult time. My father lived in one and we knew that that meant he was in the latest stages of his life,’’ he said.

“I cannot imagine better care that my family and my father could have got and I speak, I think, for hundreds of thousands of families around the country. So, yes. And the idea that our carers, that our nurses are not providing that care, I think, is a dangerous statement to make.

“They are wonderful human beings and I will not hear a word against them.”