GPs say many aged care providers are failing to safely isolate suspected or confirmed COVID residents, despite over 40 Victorian aged care home having at least one confirmed coronavirus case.
Aged Care GP provides doctors for 70 aged care facilities across Melbourne and its director Dr Sachin Patel (pictured) has required his staff wear face shields, gowns and gloves.
“I’m hearing many reports of people being isolated in a room, but that there’s no full PPE [personal protective equipment] being used when someone attends. That makes keeping them isolated irrelevant,” Dr Patel told newsGP.
Dr Patel said there has been a ‘significant degree of complacency’ in the aged care sector throughout the entire pandemic.
“People were using language like ‘when we had the pandemic’, as if it had passed. That wasn’t at all the case,” he said.
“Against those of us who tried to take the firm line, an equal number thought it was all over.”
Victorian GP Dr Joe Garra also said he has also been worried about low rates of mask-wearing among aged care staff because of the stigma around.
“Nursing home staff told me they didn’t need to wear masks because they didn’t have coronavirus there. I heard all these excuses for not wearing a mask,’ he said. ‘All the cases I’ve heard of have been linked to staff, not to visitors. So, this is not unexpected.”
It’s worth noting early in the pandemic two visiting GPs who later tested positive caused scares at Australian Unity aged care homes in Melbourne – showing they also pose a risk to residents.
