COVID-19 Aged Care

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding aged-care facilities.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I don't know whether anybody else heard that but I didn't. The Hon. Mr Stephens.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: I will repeat myself, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. E.S. Bourke interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! You can't help yourself, can you? The Hon. Ms Bourke will remain silent.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: I will repeat the question: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health and Wellbeing a question regarding aged-care facilities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: We have seen in Australia and overseas the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic can have on residents of aged-care facilities, with repercussions for their families in the broader community. Will the minister update the house on aged-care services in South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his question. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges. In Australia, we have experienced less of the health challenges that have been tragically seen overseas but, nonetheless, we have still experienced nearly 29,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 900 deaths nationally. In South Australia, we have experienced 608 cases and, sadly, four deaths.

What is a very stark fact is that of the national death toll more than two-thirds were residents of aged-care facilities: 685 in total. Of those, 655 were in Victoria and the remaining 30 were in New South Wales. In my view, one of the facts that South Australia can be most proud of is that, so far in this pandemic, we have not recorded a single death in aged-care facilities.

That achievement is even more stunning when you consider that we have had a cluster in an aged-care facility. AnglicareSA's facility at Brompton experienced four staff members who were COVID positive, yet not a single resident of that facility became COVID positive. That wasn't luck; that was careful planning and effective teamwork that meant the virus was contained. The measures that had been put in place before the cluster and during the cluster were vital. Then chief executive officer, Peter Sandeman, put it this way in December:

Our planning and preparation throughout the year, and learnings from other organisations hit by the virus, was put to the test over the past few weeks. We knew all year that it was important to stay vigilant, even when it seemed that South Australia was safe from the threat.

That planning and vigilance has paid off.

I could not agree more. The outbreak response was a collaborative effort within the home, across the Anglicare organisation and with a range of external agencies.

It was my privilege today to go down to Brompton and sing the praises of the unsung heroes of the pandemic. I regard the Brompton outbreak team as one of the least lauded but most important parts of the pandemic response. If the house could indulge me, I would just like to mention some of the members of that broader outbreak team. Daniel Aitchison, the Executive General Manager of Aged Care Services, and Catherine McGovern, the head of clinical practice, are ably supported at the facility itself by Shirley Essex, the site manager, Bruce Linn, the chair of the board of AnglicareSA, and the then chief executive officer, Peter Sandeman.

Of course, within SA Health, there was an outbreak response contribution. Cassie Mason, who has led the engagement with older South Australians and their care providers, was integral. Obviously, Ingrid Tribe and Ann Koehler from the Communicable Diseases and Control Branch were vital in terms of contact tracing and monitoring the spread of the disease, as well as Natasha White and Scott King from the Chief Nurse and Midwifery Office, Kathy McKenna and the team from Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia, and Damien Shen from the State Control Centre—Health, who was providing support in the planning function. Other partners beyond SA Health were SA Police, the commonwealth Department of Health and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Most importantly, we need to thank the residents. Without their support and cooperation, the outbreak team would not have been able to achieve what they did achieve. In December, SA Health officially declared the outbreak at Brompton over following the return of results from the seventh round of testing of all Brompton residents and employees.

Today, a little over three months since the outbreak, it was great to meet the team and to thank them for their efforts and to see that they were still being ever-vigilant. There were excellent entry controls and widespread use of masks and hand sanitisers. It was fascinating to see that they are getting ready for the next battle in the COVID war.

They are looking at using the very room where they were donning and doffing personal protective equipment in the outbreak as one of the possible sites for their vaccine clinic. As we pivot from one part of the pandemic to the next, I certainly wish the family at the AnglicareSA facility at Brompton every best wish for their safety and for their happiness in 2021.