Date Time
Report into COVID-19 outbreaks at St Basil’s and Epping Gardens
The Australian Government has released the findings of the independent review into COVID-19 outbreaks at two Victorian aged care facilities: Heritage Care’s Epping Gardens and St Basil’s Home for the Aged.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the report underlined the critical elements that led to the tragic outbreaks at the height of the second wave of community transmission across Melbourne following the Victorian Hotel Quarantine failures as outlined in today’s Inquiry.
It highlights the vital role the Commonwealth played to support the residents, staff and management affected by the outbreaks and underlines the lessons from both incidents.
The government will inject a further $1 billion into aged care, most of it for home care packages, in Thursday’s budget update.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also likely to elevate the troubled policy area to cabinet, in his imminent ministerial reshuffle.
Some 10,000 home care packages will be provided, costing $850 million, in the latest funding – 2500 packages will be released across each of the four levels of care.
The funds – announced Wednesday and included in Thursday’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook – come ahead of the final report of the royal commission into aged care due in February. An interim report more than a year ago was scathing about conditions in the sector.
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