The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) has taken action against For Profit operator Heritage Care’s Epping Gardens aged care home, stating it poses a “severe and immediate risk to residents”.
The home is the site of one of Victoria’s largest aged care outbreaks with 155 positive cases of COVID-19, and was placed under the control of Austin Health last week.
The ACQSC last audited the home in late January, and declared it compliant with all 44 aged care standards, but earlier this week announced the facility had breached a number of standards including requirements that residents get safe and effective clinical care, that there be “effective management of high-impact or high prevalence risks” and that the risk of infection be minimised.
The Commission also said the home had failed a requirement to have systems in place for “identifying and responding to abuse and neglect of consumers”.
The Quality Commissioner, Janet Anderson, said: “The Aged Care Act clearly sets out the responsibilities and obligations of approved providers, and the Commission is engaging with (Epping Gardens) to hold them to account.”
Heritage Care will now need to appoint an independent advisor and is also banned from admitting new residents (though no home with COVID outbreaks is allowed to take on new residents).
