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Kathie Melocco speaks to media outside SummitCare in Baulkham
Hills . Photo : Bianca De Marchi
“ The
communications with the families was totally inadequate .
‘ Not okay ’
Daughter of COVID-stricken SummitCare residents speaks out .
By Eleanor Campbell
What my family has been through has just been unbelievable ,” said Kathie Melocco , the daughter of two SummitCare residents who are currently being treated after testing positive for COVID-19 .
“ The communication my family ’ s had and the support we ’ ve had , we feel let down to be truthful .”
In July the SummitCare aged care facility in Sydney ’ s northwest went into lockdown after six of its residents and five staff members tested positive for coronavirus .
Kathie ’ s parents were among the majority of residents who received the Pfizer vaccine in April . They both contracted the virus after it was reported that two workers attended shifts while infectious .
It was later confirmed that only twothirds of the over 200 staff working in the facility had been vaccinated .
“ Everyone knows that I was angry – I was furious ,” she said .
“ If mum and dad were vaccinated , why weren ’ t we told that aged care workers were still in the queue to get vaccinated ? I think we had a right to know .”
Kathie ’ s parents , Allan , 88 , and Lona , 87 , are now receiving care at Westmead Hospital . “ They are not doing so great ,” said Kathie . “ Dad ’ s on dialysis . He had a major bleed out last night , his temperature was 39 and he ’ s been on oxygen .
“ My mum ’ s not doing so well , and that ’ s with the vaccination .”
After the outbreak occurred , a lack of crisis counselling offered to families and residents caused higher stress and confusion for the resident ’ s families , according to Kathie .
“ Initially , the communications with the families was totally inadequate .
“ They ’ ve now gotten into a rhythm , and we now get twice daily updates and I think they will be the first to admit that they struggled early on ,” she said .
Corporate Manager of SummitCare , Michelle Sloane , told Aged Care Insite that she believed the communication offered by the facility was adequate .
“ We have had trauma counselling for families and a lot of families have taken that up ,” she said .
“ On the whole , I have had overwhelming emails and phone calls and support for all of our families , even our suppliers and our colleagues have been supportive in the industry .”
Aged care staff and nurses have since returned from isolation to the SummitCare facility , according to Sloane , and were vaccinated on site soon after .
“ I ’ m very disappointed in the federal and state government ’ s announcement about increasing funding to headspace and Lifeline , which are very , very important services – but what about mental health support for aged care ? It just gets forgotten ,” Kathie says .
Kathie is the founder of WOW , a workplace chaplaincy agency which provides first responder care to trauma survivors . She is now speaking out publicly about the need for trauma informed care in aged care services .
“ There ’ s a real need for all aged care facilities to think about communication and care and trauma , because it ’ s traumatic for families to not be able to see their loved ones , it ’ s traumatic for the loved ones ,” she said .
“ Families are not engaged enough in a way that makes a meaningful contribution ,” she said .
Kathie said she has received numerous phone calls , texts and letters from families and aged care workers expressing their frustration over a lack of crisis planning .
“ One lady let me know that she made an appointment and stood in the queue for an extra two-and-a-half hours on her first vaccination ,” Kathie said .
“ After asking to book her second one , they told her that there wasn ’ t enough vaccine .
“ In aged care , as we know , you ’ re not paid adequately , the conditions aren ’ t great , many of them are women , it ’ s a classic story of taking advantage of people .
“ We ’ ve got to restore dignity into workplaces for aged care workers in order to look after our loved ones .”
Allan and Lona , made the joint decision to move into the SummitCare facility three years ago . The pair met when they were thirteen , and have been married for 65 years .
Kathie said that she chose to speak out because she loves her parents , and will continue to do so until the lived experiences of families of aged care residents are integrated into the sector .
“ I ’ m just not going to walk away from this , it ’ s just not okay ,” she said .
“ My parents have been there through raising us , helping us with our children , through divorces , loss , grief , all of those things – now it ’ s our turn to be there for them .” ■ agedcareinsite . com . au 5