Leadership and guidance key to a swift outbreak response: expert

A new independent review into the handling of COVID-19 in residential care has identified the key factors which make staff and residents more vulnerable to severe outbreaks.

The report, titled ‘No Time for Complacency’, contained a number of in-depth interviews, workshops and surveys with industry leaders and providers. 

It was found that quality of clinical leadership, staff training and availability of consistent health information significantly affected how facilities responded to outbreaks.

Co-author professor Lyn Gilbert said there needs to be radical changes made to the way aged care homes are staffed and trained.

“Many of them were in denial, and or just didn’t have the resources or the leadership or the staff to prepare properly, and I think that was a major issue,” Gilbert told Aged Care Insite.

“It’s not an easy task and it’s not going to be solved overnight.”

Professor Gilbert, who is an infectious disease physician and clinical microbiologist, joined Aged Care Insite to unpack the report's findings and map out the changes needed to protect residential care homes into the future.