BOANDIK Lodge in Mount Gambier has been labelled as posing an “immediate and severe risk” to the safety, health or well-being of its residents following a Covid-19 outbreak in the facility.
The Federal Government’s Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), established after the Royal Commission into Aged Care, issued a notice to Boandik Lodge Inc last month stating it had “identified that there is an immediate and severe risk to the safety, health or well-being of care recipients to whom the approved provider is providing care”.
The notice comes amid revelations this week that a resident of Boandik Lodge died in Mount Gambier hospital from Covid-19.
An advisor to assist in returning the facility to full compliance, as required by the notice from ACQSC, was appointed at Boandik Lodge’s expense on January 23 and the residents and relatives were notified on January 25.
Until the compliance issues are addressed, a sanction has been placed on the facility that it will not be eligible to receive Commowealth subsidies for any new care recipients until May 24.
The notice requires Boandik Lodge Inc to provide, at its expense, training for its officers, employees and agents… and to demonstrate that it has provided that training.
Details on the notice reveal that the failures which led to the sanction being imposed were in the areas of personal and clinical care, and human resources.
Training required by the notice “should include, but not be limited to, management of infection prevention and control, correct usage of PPE [personal protective equipment], identification and action to assist clinically deteriorating residents and human resources”.
The facility must also participate in regular teleconferences with the Commission and ensure a regular written report is prepared and provided to enable the Commission to monitor its progress.
Boandik Lodge chief executive officer Gillian McGinty said there were a “number of details” regarding the decision including insufficient staff numbers due to Covid-positive cases but she would not comment on specific details.
“One of the reasons was due to the large number of staff testing positive and managing a large outbreak, which I think we are all learning at this stage,” she said.
“What we would do now if there were another outbreak is completely different to what we would do in the future because of what we have learnt over the past few weeks.
“It is very disappointing that we haven’t been found to meet the standards but we now need to improve on our processes and move forward,” she said.
About 22 residents and 37 staff tested positive throughout the Covid-19 outbreak with Ms McGinty hoping the facility would be Covid-free by the end of the week.
“We have cleared our residents who had Covid and are just waiting on the final testing results to come through,” Ms McGinty said.
“Hopefully we will be able to declare the outbreak over and get back to some form of normality.”
