The chief executive of a major aged care provider has slammed the prime minister for suggesting Australians “push through” the Omicron crisis, warning his “exhausted” staff are at breaking point and some residents have been isolated in their rooms for 21 days straight.
Baptistcare chief executive, Charles Moore, penned a damning open letter on Thursday saying his organisation “cannot stay silent” over Morrison’s comments.
Earlier this month Scott Morrison explained his government’s strategy for dealing with the latest wave of the pandemic, saying: “You have two choices here: you can push through or you can lock down. We’re for pushing through.”
Moore, who runs 18 aged care facilities across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, said the Omicron variant had only served to exacerbate existing systemic flaws in the “critically underfunded” sector, which were identified in the royal commission but remain unaddressed.
He said his staff were “significantly underpaid” for the work they do and were exhausted, working huge shifts and grappling with shortages that were being compounded by the Omicron variant.
“The simple truth is that we cannot maintain the standard of care our community expects if the situation continues and all we do is ‘push through’,” he said.
Moore warned current infection control measures required that vaccinated residents were “endlessly” isolated, prevented from having essential visitors.
“In one situation, residents have been forced to keep to their rooms for over 21 days.”
He called on the federal government to work with states and territories to develop new guidance to help vaccinated aged care residents live with the virus, and ensure that workers receive “fair and competitive compensation for the critical work they do”.
“I write to you today because we cannot keep ‘pushing through’,” he said. “We need change from the top and we need support from our communities to ensure Australia’s vulnerable and elderly receive the standard of care and services they deserve and expect.”
“We ask that, through your leadership of our nation, you ensure the aged care sector has the appropriate resources to push through this wave, and beyond.”
His comments came on the same day that aged care staff unions renewed their plea for the Australian Defence Force to be used as a surge workforce for the sector.
Moore later told the Guardian that staffing shortages had been experienced across all 18 of the organisation’s facilities.
He said the plea for help showed the sector was “on our knees” and needed long-term, sustainable and appropriate resourcing.
“Requests for the highly respected ADF to provide assistance are indicative of the poor resourcing the aged care sector has faced for a long time,” he said.
“BaptistCare is saying that needs to start with better pay and conditions for existing staff, as well as to attract more staff into the sector, to care for our future generations of ageing Australians.”
Data suggested Omicron had spread to more than 700 aged care homes across Australia last week.
Patchy supply of rapid tests and personal protective equipment has compounded the problem, and the industry says proactive distribution of testing devices to facilities not yet experiencing an outbreak has yet to begin.
Some providers who were in the grips of an outbreak were left waiting weeks for their shipments of rapid tests to arrive.
Moore said Baptistcare had been proactive in ordering rapid tests, which had prevented any shortages, but said the Commonwealth should be funding stock for all aged care providers, regardless of whether they are the site of an outbreak.
He said the impact of separation on residents and families was significant.
“We understand how frustrating this is for families, who on one hand want their vulnerable and ageing loved one to be safe, but also want to visit with them,” Moore told the Guardian. “We’ve worked hard to try and set up visitation via phone, video or windows, but with increasing strain on staffing, and a priority to provide direct care to residents, this is sometimes difficult to achieve.”
The aged care minister, Richard Colbeck, meanwhile, has faced criticism for attending the Ashes cricket on the same day he declined to front an inquiry about the federal government’s Covid response.
He has previously said there is no shortage of PPE, that more than 6m rapid tests have been distributed to aged care facilities, and that no one could have predicted the nature of Omicron.
“None of us know what the next variant will look like or how it will play out. And we’re adapting to the pandemic appropriately, in my view, as we have done all the way through,” he told the ABC earlier this month.
Morrison’s office was approached for comment.
