Family of St Basil’s resident told father was fine, in reality he was in hospital fighting for life

The COVID-19 crisis in Victorian aged care homes is worsening as the St Basil’s aged care home has been evacuated and residents taken to private hospitals, according to the Nine papers.

St Basil’s had been taken over by the federal Government but there has been widespread criticism of the information given to families about the wellbeing of loved ones residing in the home.

Nicholas Barboussas was told by St Basil’s at the weekend that his father was in the home and doing well, when in fact a he was in Northern Hospital fighting for his life.

Barboussas told Nine’s Today program the family managed to FaceTime with the ill grandfather before he passed away on Sunday, after Victoria’s official case and toll figures were announced.

The situation has led to the evacuation of the home and an announcement by Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck that there will be a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre active from Monday to help tackle the crisis.

The Response Centre will be led by an executive team including clinical and operational leads, enabling a rapid response as required.

It will include staff from the Department of Health, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, DHHS, EMA, EMV and Defence

Colbeck says that this response is on top of current measures in place which include a surge workforce of more than 450 in aged care facilities statewide.

Staff are also limited to work at a single site to minimise COVID-19 spread, and extra PPE and testing has been provided in facilities where positive cases are identified and additional testing in areas identified as high risk.

“Aged care is the biggest risk for us with the current COVID outbreak,” federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck told Seven’s Sunrise on Monday.

“It is very much a victim of the community transmission that is going through Victoria at the moment. There are a number of facilities we are extremely concerned about.”

The government held a meeting with St Basil’s families on Sunday to outline the new measures, including a call centre set up for information on loved ones, however the government has not yet commented on the news that the entirety of the St. Basil’s home, sick or not, has been evacuated.

Victoria has recorded its largest daily COVID-19 figures and the nation’s deadliest day of the pandemic within the space of 24 hours.

Ten new deaths were announced on Sunday, seven of which were linked to outbreaks in aged care facilities, with 532 more COVID-19 cases recorded across the state.

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