industry & reform
A cleaning crew exits
Washington’s Life Care
Center in March. Photo: John
Moore/Getty Images/AFP
Gold standard
How Australia
has set the
example for
pandemic
readiness and
response.
By Heidi West
When just one patient passed
away as a result of COVID-19
infection in a Sydney aged care
home, it was considered “a system failure”.
To date, our country has lost 27 of its aged
care community residents to the virus.
In Canada, almost half the deaths resulting
from the novel coronavirus have occurred
in nursing homes. In Quebec, 60 per cent
of the pandemic deaths were residents of
nursing homes or long-term care facilities.
One Ontario nursing home lost a third of its
residents (27 deaths). More than half the staff
have tested positive for COVID-19.
In the United States, the virus has claimed
at least 7000 lives in skilled nursing facilities.
This accounts for approximately one-fifth of
the deaths across the nation. Some 36,500
residents and front-line workers in American
nursing homes have tested positive for the
novel coronavirus.
How are we protecting our Australian
elders and frontline workers?
The demonstrated safety of the residents in
Australia’s aged care homes has everything
to do with the aged care initiatives and
programs our federal government offers
along with the strict regulations that apply to
every facility, no matter if the home is public
or private. In most other countries, homes
for the elders of communities are regulated
either on a city or state level, rather than a
uniform federal level.
In the UK, care for the elderly is mainly
run by local authorities with co-regulation
from the government. The true number
of COVID-related aged care home deaths
in the UK is not known due to the varying
tallies. As of April 3, the ONS released a
figure that showed an average of 5 per cent
of the deaths occurred in UK aged homes,
but it is said to be much higher. The variance
in death tallies is a representation of the
inaccuracy that occurs when homes are not
federally regulated.
No flu shot? No entrance
Everyone entering into an Australian aged
care home has to have a flu vaccination. This
includes residents, staff, visitors, and even
vendors coming in from the outside. The
staff in the homes are encouraged to ask for
proof of flu vaccination before anyone can
enter. No flu shot? No entrance. No matter
who you are. Our government mandates
that the facility pay for its staff and every
resident to get the flu shot. Although the
influenza vaccination mandate has been in
place since 2018, this preventive measure
minimises flu outbreaks while preventing the
risk of a resident’s body being overwhelmed
by contracting both COVID-19 and influenza
at the same time.
Because elder care is not federally
regulated in the United States and
Canada, getting a flu shot is mandated
in some facilities and counties, and only
a recommendation in others. No other
countries are as strict as Australia with the
absolute mandate of receiving influenza
vaccination.
Strict lockdown has helped Australia
avoid a widespread outbreak
In Australia, we have not seen the
widespread national outbreak of countries
such as the United States, China, Italy and
Spain. Our curve has begun to flatten, and
plans to reopen our country and recover the
economy are in place. The great success
in Australia is a result of quick action. We
should be proud of our care for our citizens.
Protocol and regulations were set in
place in February, and by March the entire
country was locked down with the intent
of protecting our population, especially
our most vulnerable. The United States
knew about the outbreak for almost two
months before any action was taken, and
the UK initially planned on developing herd
immunity.
Although we faced a mask shortage in
January, the UK not only did not supply
its frontline staff with personal protective
equipment, but its health secretary Matt
Hancock refused to apologise for the danger
the nurses and clinicians were in.
Australia’s advantages over other
countries in the COVID-19 battle
Aside from the quick response and swift
lockdown of the country, many other
factors have helped Australia become an
example for other countries in pandemic risk
management and elderly care.
On March 29, our government expanded
telehealth benefits for the entire population
to see their primary care physician, general
practitioner, and/or medical specialists
virtually to prevent the spread of the virus
and protect both patients and frontline
workers.
Additionally, the government specified
that physicians who are in the at-risk group
could hold their virtual appointments with
their patients from their homes rather than
from a facility. Many reports are coming out
of the United States about at-risk nurses
who were forced to work on the front line
without proper PPE or lose their job.
Although there are no federal laws
regarding a staff-to-resident ratio in
Australia, it is recognised that the ratio has a
direct link to the quality of care the residents
receive. A “much above-average” nursing
home in the US has one registered nurse
per 16 residents on a good staffing day. A
below-average American nursing home has
29 residents per RN on its worst staffing day.
The statistical link between the staff-resident
ratio in the US may correlate with the 7000
nursing home coronavirus deaths.
The new global normal
Our world will never be the same after this
pandemic. As we prepare to reopen the
outside to our citizens, it should be obvious
to the rest of the world that this country is
doing it the right way, and we should take
notes for the time when – not if – the next
pandemic arrives. ■
Heidi West is a medical writer for
Vohra Wound Physicians, a national
wound care physician group. She writes
about healthcare and technology in the
medical industry.
agedcareinsite.com.au
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