Coronavirus: One in five up to date with training

Just one in five aged care workers completed PPE training module prior to the Victorian spike.

Scott Morrison visits Walker Seafoods Australia in Mooloolaba on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Just one in five aged-care workers across the nation had done the federal government’s personal protection training module on the eve of the Victorian corona­virus spike, The Australian can reveal, as Scott Morrison cancelled­ a three-day Queensland visit to co-ordinate­ the respons­e ­from Canberra.

As part of the $101.2m the government gave in March to limit the spread of the virus in aged-care facilities, $44,000 was spent on developing a free online program that included educating workers in infection control.

By comparison, nearly $2m went to developing the COVIDSafe app, while up to $64m is understood to have been spent on promoting the health campaign.

A response to a question on notice before the COVID-19 select­ committee reveals that, despite efforts to prepare the sector, just 66,000 aged-care workers or 20 per cent of the workforce had completed the government’s PPE training course as at June 4.

Active coronavirus cases across Victoria jumped from 16 to 75 between June 22 and 29, and by July 4 had soared to 108. On Tuesday­, the deaths of six more people were ­recorded, four of whom were aged-care residents.

United Workers Union national aged-care director Carolyn Smith told The Australian on Tuesday the government had made a mistake in not making it a requirement for all staff to receive a specific level of training.

“Looking at Victoria, clearly we were not well prepared, we knew that aged care was going to be the major flashpoint for COVID -19,” she said. “While there was really significant preparation in hospitals with extra staff, (and) freeing up ICUs, there was no similar system-wide preparation in aged care. It was as if we closed our eyes and thought it wasn’t going to happen here.”

Leading Age Services Australia director Tim Hicks told The Australian on Tuesday all aged-care providers were required to carry out infection-control training, either through their own system­s or government courses, to comply with standards.

“Many aged-care providers have their own rigorous infection-control training that is checked against government and health authority recommendations,” he said. “It is compulsory for all employees.”

However, a survey of 1000 carers by the United Workers Union found two-thirds felt unprepared to deal with a coronavirus outbreak and almost a third said they had received no extra training in COVID-19 safety measures or how to use PPE.

Opposition aged-care spokeswoman Julie Collins said the onlin­e program’s low uptake was more disturbing evidence of how little the government was prepared for outbreaks. “We knew from international experience how vulnerable our older people in nursing homes were to COVID-19. So why didn’t the Morrison government do more to prepare workers?” she said.

“(It) must now urgently ensure all aged-care workers have under­taken appropriate training in PPE and infection control.”

Victorian Premier Daniel And­rews said on Tuesday he did not have confidence that staff and management in private-sector aged-care facilities could keep residents safe. Some priv­ate aged-care providers were “struggling to maintain staffing levels and basic standards of care” as 769 cases were linked to more than 80 ­nursing homes across the state.