St Basil’s inquest: Decision to stand down staff ‘led to neglect of residents’

A senior doctor has broken down in tears at an inquest into the deaths of 50 residents, 45 from Covid-19, at a Melbourne aged care facility.

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton signed off on the order forcing all St Basil’s staff into isolation on July 21. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Daniel Pockett

A senior doctor says the Victorian government’s decision to stand down all staff at St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Melbourne’s north led to the “subsequent neglect of residents”, an inquest has heard.

Northern Health divisional director of sub acute services Sandra Brown on Tuesday broke down in tears before the inquiry into the deaths of 50 residents, 45 from Covid-19, at the Fawkner facility.

“This was the most distressing day of my career,” she said as she recalled visiting St Basil’s after federal government sourced replacement workers had taken over.

Unable to read her evidence tendered to Victoria’s Coroner’s Court, Dr Brown agreed that the residents’ basic care needs – including food, water, and medicine – were not met.

She said another worker from the medical team told her that they “felt like they were just facilitating neglect” as they watched the largely inexperienced and under staffed replacement workforce flounder.

Dr Brown said her team had genuine concern about residents “starving to death and dying of dehydration from basic care needs not being met”.

“It is my opinion that the decision to furlough staff without appropriate staffing contingencies in place led to the subsequent neglect of residents at St Basil’s,” she said.

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton signed off on the order forcing all St Basil’s staff into isolation on July 21 and the federal government took over the facility with surge workers the next day.

Dr Brown said she attempted to warn Victorian health authorities that the decision to stand down all staff at the facility, which housed 118 residents that largely spoke English as a second language, was dangerous.

She said she became emotional during one meeting because she felt like no one listening to her or appreciating the danger residents would face if all staff were stood down.

“I felt like I was being ignored,” she said.

“There didn't seem to be anybody recognising [that] in the absence of suitable replacement workforce, it would be putting people in danger.”

Dr Brown said her concerns were shared by St Basil’s staff.

Under cross examination by Mary Anne Hartley QC, representing the Victorian Health Department, Dr Brown said the decision to stand down staff would have been difficult and said then department deputy secretary Terry Symonds was “very responsive” and took her concerns onboard.

Dr Brown said she understood the motivation of the Health Department was to help residents and staff but said felt they’d taken a “textbook approach” to handling the St Basil’s outbreak.

“The public health unit might have benefited by setting foot in St Basil’s and then they would have been able to make a more nuanced decision,” she said.

Maria Vasilakis.

Spiros Vasilakis, who appeared alongside his sister Dora, said after his mother Maria, 81, was admitted to the Northern Hospital with Covid-19 they received a phone call from a social worker saying she was in her room at St Basil’s.

“Mum is in the Northern she is dying [and] we get a call from St Basil’s saying she’s in her room doing well.”

Before his mother was hospitalised, Mr Vasilakis said they struggled to find out information or get into St Basil’s to see Maria.

He said when they were finally allowed in the facility, an elderly resident was walking around in the hallway yelling in Greek for Maria before trying to enter his mother’s room.

“This lady is walking around in a contaminated area and no one is around to stop her from doing so,” he said.

Mr Vasilakis said St Basil’s attempt to excuse the outbreak was “pathetic” and “lame”, saying it had been obvious from the beginning of the pandemic that aged care homes were particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.

“I want to see a finding against the facility, against St Basil’s,” he said.

The inquest continues.