Minister Richard Colbeck’s plea to nursing staff: don’t abandon elderly

Nursing staff should continue to turn up to work in aged-care homes, minister Richard Colbeck says.

‘There is no reason for staff at aged-care centres to avoid going to work unless they are showing symptoms’: Minister Richard Colbeck. Picture Kym Smith

Nursing staff are vital for the welfare of vulnerable older Australians and should continue to turn up to work in aged-care homes, Richard Colbeck says.

An emergency forum of aged-care providers, consumer and worker representatives, bureaucrats and state governments met with the Aged Care Minister on Friday to discuss the latest information on how best to protect residents and workers from the spread of the coronavirus.

Senator Colbeck said the health, safety and welfare of older Australians were “paramount” and the government’s advice to the aged-care sector was no different than to the wider community — to practise good hygiene and go about their lives as they normally would.

Yet workers do have a particular responsibility to those in their care, he said. “There is no reason for staff at aged-care centres to avoid going to work unless they are showing symptoms, have been in contact with somebody showing symptoms or have been specifically ordered to isolate,” Senator Colbeck said.

The aged-care sector has been a particular point of concern during the coronavirus crisis, with Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly saying the worldwide experience so far was that “people who are elderly and those with chronic conditions are more vulnerable to this virus”.

A Sydney aged-care centre, Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park, has already seen two workers and four residents test positive, with authorities worried the numbers could rise.

Senator Colbeck said the aged-care sector would continue to be provided with the best available ­advice on the virus and how it should be managed.

Sean Rooney, chief executive of aged-care provider group Leading Aged Services Australia, said the sector was “working ­extremely hard to protect our most vulnerable Australians and stands ready to continue the fight, for as long as it takes”.