Media hysteria around COVID-19 is making it a ‘real challenge’ to find staff to work in aged care facilities, according to Glenn Keys, executive chairman of Aspen Medical, the private medical provider who took over the running of St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner last week.
“At the moment, a lot of them are either in isolation or are positive and then we have a third group who are people who are afraid to go work”, he told ABC Radio National.
Mr Keys said the media has not assisted with getting people to work, while other states are reluctant to send their staff in case they have their own outbreak.
Questioned about allegations that many health professionals being deployed into aged care homes are junior graduates not equipped to handle the job, Mr Keys denied this, saying that his staff were mostly from overseas, and were Registered Nurses prior to arriving in Australia.
The CEO also said the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was a significant issue for aged care facilities as most aged care staff are not trained adequately for full PPE use and disposal (see the next story).
He said staff needed to put on and take off equipment such as gloves, masks, face shields and shoe coverings up to 50 times a day.
Asked whether he believes facilities should have been better prepared to handle these outbreaks, Mr Keys cited that even prior to COVID-19, most homes have an infection plan, but “to get ready for something of this magnitude with a level of it being in the community is another thing.”
“No one could have truly prepared for what has hit the world with coronavirus,” he concluded.
