industry & reform
Families left ‘ broken ’
Ambulances at Epping Gardens Aged Care Home . Photo : Andrew Henshaw and secrecy has left them with many unanswered questions .
“ My question was , number one , did my mother-in-law have a fall or not ?
“ Number two , if she had a fall , what caused the fall ? Because apparently , they had no staff in there and apparently meds weren ’ t being given . My mother-in-law was fully dehydrated when she got to Northern . You don ’ t get fully dehydrated in a fiveminute ambulance trip ,” she said .
An ABC investigation of the failures at Epping Gardens found notes from executives at the home saying that staff levels , normally set at 110 people , were “ serious ” and “ 50 down ” at the time of the outbreak .
The family of an Epping Gardens resident speaks out ahead of legal action .
By Conor Burke
She looked like a scared mouse ,
her eyes were rolling in the back of her head , she looked terrified , absolutely terrified ,” Sue Agnello says . She is describing the final moments of her mother-in-law ’ s life in a Melbourne hospital .
Carmela Agnello was 92 when she died in the Northern Hospital from COVID-19 and her final goodbyes with her family were done over Skype .
Carmela was one of the 211 cases of COVID-19 that have so far been linked to the controversial Epping Gardens Aged Care facility in Epping , Melbourne , where at least 20 residents have since passed away .
Sue ’ s husband Sam Agnello is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Epping Gardens and its owner , Heritage Care .
Over 60 families have joined the lawsuit which is being handled by Carbone lawyers , and partner Tony Carbone says the families involved want to make sure that what they have experienced doesn ’ t happen to anyone else .
The class action alleges that Epping gardens failed to protect the residents who contracted the virus and , among other issues , the home allowed a baby shower to take place there on 16 July and a party on the 18th .
“ A lot of the concerns weren ’ t only around what was happening with COVID . A lot of the concerns were about the poor treatment of their loved ones pre-COVID ,” Carbone told Aged Care Insite .
10 agedcareinsite . com . au
“ The reality is that the level of abuse in that place is just extraordinary . People dehydrated , not getting fed properly , not getting their medications . [ They ] just weren ’ t getting attended to . Sanitation was poor , a lack of care . The breach of the contract they signed when they entered the facility , which is that they ’ d be looked after , and we say they weren ’ t looked after .”
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Carmela , a resident of Epping Gardens since July 2018 , was transferred to the Northern Hospital on 25 July after she hit her head in a suspected fall .
Doctors were shocked at her condition and overall wellbeing upon arrival . “ Did she have a fever at Epping Gardens ?” they asked the family .
“ We said , ‘ We ’ ll ring and find out .’ She was fully dehydrated . She had fluid on the lungs , she had a cough and she needed oxygen and she had a UTI infection and her heart wasn ’ t working properly ,” Sue says .
“ We said , ‘ Has all that happened from the fall ?’ [ The doctor ] said , ‘ No , this has got nothing to do with the fall . From the fall she looked like she ’ s okay . It ’ s how she ’ s presented , we ’ re extremely concerned .’”
Sue and her family then tried to contact Epping Gardens but could not get hold of anyone via phone or email .
The next time they heard from management was the day Carmela and family said their goodbyes . Epping Gardens called to say that Carmela had tested positive for COVID-19 from a test taken , unbeknownst to Agnello ’ s family , on Thursday the 23rd . Carmela passed away on 28 July .
Sue and her family are devastated about the treatment Carmela was given in Epping Gardens . The lack of communication
STAFF TOLD NOT TO GET COVID TESTS Carbone says that some Epping Gardens carers have contacted his firm and intend to speak out against the home . They have told him that staffing numbers were indeed low and often inexperienced staff were left alone to look after residents .
Carers also allege that they were told off by superiors for getting COVID-19 tests as they were already short staffed , leaving many carers scared of losing their jobs .
Questions have also been raised about the level of infection control at the home . Staff and residents were said to have been allowed to move freely around any areas of the home .
Carbone told Aged Care Insite that this was particularly negligent . At the time of the outbreak , Epping Gardens was leasing the bottom level of the facility to the Northern Hospital for respite , and staff allege that they were made to work across that section as well as upstairs with the regular Epping Gardens residents , and that this potentially helped spread the virus .
The number of healthcare workers in Melbourne who have contracted the virus has reached 2,692 , with 70 to 80 per cent of these cases caught at work according to Premier Dan Andrews .
COMMUNITY MOURNS Sue Agnello says that family friends at the home have also passed away and they have all been left “ broken ” as a result . Other residents are also shocked and asking what has happened to their friends , many of them unaware that fellow residents have passed away .
“ Every single one of the grandchildren , my nieces , my sister-in-law is still crying . My husband is broken , but you don ’ t send your loved ones off like this ,” says Sue .