COVID-19 training fail lands residential aged care provider $150K fine

Residential aged care provider St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria has been convicted and fined $150,000 after workers contracted COVID-19 at a Fawkner facility in July 2020. St Basil’s — that employed 106 workers across the workplace, which included a 54-bed hostel, a 72-bed nursing home and a 24-bed dementia unit — pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing to provide information, instruction and training necessary to enable employees to work in a way that was safe and without risks to health.

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) published guidelines in March 2020 focused on controlling the transmission of COVID-19 in residential aged care facilities. Included in these guidelines was information in relation to identifying COVID-19, routes of transmission, stocking and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and responsibility for ensuring staff were trained and competent in all aspects of outbreak management.

St Basil’s updated its infection control plans, the court heard, and provided written pandemic resources in the staff room and main office. Some workers were provided with information on the use of PPE between March and June 2020 during five COVID-19 training sessions run by external medical practitioners or during shift handovers and commencement. A number of workers, however, did not attend any of the training sessions.

St Basil’s admitted it had failed to provide all workers with information, instruction and training about required items of PPE, the sequence and manner of donning and doffing PPE, and what constituted a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case that would require PPE to be worn. A personal care attendant who had been at work the previous day advised St Basil’s in July that they had tested positive for COVID-19. The court heard that, subsequently, 45 workers developed COVID-19.

“Training isn’t just an optional extra, it’s business-critical, and employers must ensure they provide appropriate information and instruction to all workers — regardless of how often they are in the workplace or face a particular hazard,” WorkSafe Victoria Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said. “The tragic events at St Basil’s were a heartbreaking reminder of why health and safety matters, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those impacted.”

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