The operator was initially offered a ‘surge’ workforce by the Federal Government by private contractor Aspen Medical on 14 April, but only took up the offer on 20 April, according to evidence from Department at the Senate committee’s inquiry into the Government’s response to the pandemic, which focused on the aged care sector yesterday.
The ongoing outbreak at the operator’s Newmarch House aged care home in Western Sydney has infected 71 people and resulted in the deaths of at least 17 residents since the first case was identified on 11 April – just over seven weeks ago.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, Janet Anderson PSM, also said that Anglicare’s management of the Newmarch outbreak “was not a compellingly good example”.
“(We) concluded that they needed significant help in their management of that outbreak.”
As we reported here, the ACQSC did intervene in the situation at Newmarch, including organising for a team of three staff from BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge to be seconded to the home and for Catholic Healthcare’s Andrew Kinkade to be appointed as an independent adviser.
Senator Kristina Keneally questioned Ms Anderson closely on who was in charge of the decision-making at the home, citing Anglicare CEO Grant Millard’s comments circulated in the media that there was confusion over who exactly was in charge of the situation.
“Were there too many cooks in the kitchen?” she asked.
The Commissioner said that NSW Health had “preeminence” but Anglicare as the “approved provider”, “retains legal responsibility” for the handling of the outbreak.
However, Ms Anderson acknowledged that the Newmarch House outbreak was “fundamentally different” to the outbreaks at BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Opal’s Bankstown aged care home because of “the extent of initial exposure” of residents to the virus, noting on the first day of the outbreak – 12 April – only one resident and staff member was diagnosed.
By the following Saturday, this had climbed to 25 residents and 14 staff – a result of the “degree of exposure” at the home.
Ms Anderson said Anglicare Sydney “was not as well placed … as we needed them to be to make right, well-informed decisions.”
“We weren’t getting the responsiveness we expected on this outbreak.”
Senator Keneally also pressed the officials on the decision not to transfer Newmarch residents to hospital – and the fact that Mr Millard says he would have sent residents in hindsight.
The Department of Health’s Deputy Secretary for Ageing and Aged Care, Michael Lye, said the NSW Government had chosen to establish a ‘Hospital in the Home’ at the aged care home in agreement with the infectious diseases specialists advising NSW Health and the Aged Care Commissioner and the Department of Health had taken part in regular case management meetings with all the parties.
While hospitalising residents was raised at those meetings, this was opted against because of the large number of people assumed to have been exposed to the virus.
“We are fully supportive of the approach taken in this case,” he said.
Mr Lye pointed to the recent situation at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre, where residents where moved out because there were two and four residents sharing rooms and bathrooms.
“Newmarch is slightly different because of the way in which the outbreak manifested,” he said.
Mr Lye also maintained there had been no secondary spread of the virus at Newmarch.
Ms Anderson backed him up, saying the clinical response needed to be led by the Public Health Unit with the overall governance to rest with Anglicare.
“Mr Millard at the time did not register any objections,” she added.
The Department of Health also denied Mr Millard’s allegations that the operator had been unable to access PPE from the Federal Government’s National Medical Stockpile (NMS).
Mr Lye stated that the Department had had “difficulty” with Anglicare in identifying requests of PPE.
“The organisation may not have been sure what they actually had,” he said.
Mr Lye conceded that the NMS does not dispense PPE unless providers need it and there were some issues in NSW around the availability of gowns, but said: “When there is an outbreak, we will move heaven and earth.”
The Department’s Acting Secretary, Caroline Edwards, also added: “We appreciate Newmarch House was in a very difficult position and we wouldn’t want any suggestion that we think otherwise.”
The Department also said it had met Anglicare’s requests for support with staffing, supplying an average of 27 additional staff a day at the height of the outbreak with staff from Mable coming to the home from 16 April.
Both Ms Anderson and Mr Lye say they have now changed their approach to operators that experience COVID-19 outbreaks by counselling them “aggressively” their response, particularly on workforce management and supply.
“CEOs don’t understand the impact of an outbreak on staffing,” Mr Lye said, noting that staff are often urged by family members not to go to work.
“Newmarch is no different from other organisations that said ‘we think we’ll be okay’ and then weren’t,” he said.
