Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. One hundred metres from where I ask this question in the heart of my electorate is Baptcare Wyndham Lodge. Prime Minister, how many residents at this facility have died from the COVID outbreak? Does the Prime Minister accept responsibility for his failure, which left all aged-care residents more vulnerable to the deadly COVID virus?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. There have been 10 deaths at the Baptcare Wyndham Lodge. There are 80 residents that have tested positive for COVID-19 and 86 staff. I understand that the number of residents currently in hospital is four.

This was one of those very significantly affected facilities that I referred to in answers last week. Baptcare Wyndham Lodge notified the Department of Health that it had a positive case on 16 July. The Department of Health tailored specific support as soon as this notification occurred. Testing of residents and staff commenced at Wyndham Lodge on 18 July. The Australian government provided a range of surge staff, including through the National Aged Care Emergency Response teams, from 24 July, including a clinical first-responder nurse. Australian medical assistance teams also provided onsite advice to the service regarding deep cleaning, infection control, cohorting of residents and safe waste management. An independent adviser has been appointed to Baptcare Wyndham Lodge. These are the responsibilities that we have and, as I've said and apologised for previously to those families and the residents of the most affected, there were four in particular that were acutely affected with unacceptable outcomes. As difficult as that has been, our concern was, frankly, that with the rate of COVID infection that was occurring in the community in Victoria this might have spread to many more facilities. As we've seen overseas, in the United Kingdom some 56 per cent of facilities have had COVID infections amongst staff and residents. In Australia that figure is eight per cent.

What has occurred at Baptcare Wyndham Lodge is very, very concerning and very, very troubling, but I've set out the actions that the government has taken in relation to that. To the families of those 10 Australians who passed away as a result of COVID-19 I extend my sincere condolences.