Assignment
Case Study: Epping Gardens aged care facility owner charged over deadly COVID outbreak
The operator of a Melbourne aged care home at the centre of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak is facing millions of dollars in fines for allegedly failing to provide a safe work environment to staff during the pandemic.
Heritage Care is the second aged care operator in a week in Melbourne to be accused by WorkSafe of breaching occupational safety laws, after charges were filed against St Basil's Homes for the Aged last Monday.
The charges are the result of a 22-month probe of Epping Gardens Aged Care in which investigators combed through thousands of pages of documents and carried out interviews.
Thirty-four residents at the Epping facility died after contracting COVID-19 during the outbreak, which occurred between March and July 2020. A total of 89 residents and 65 staff tested positive for the virus.
WorkSafe alleges Heritage Care failed to adequately train its staff in the use and disposal of personal protective equipment and to ensure workers and others were not exposed to health and safety risks on site.
The penalty for each of these offences is a fine of up to $1.49 million, a WorkSafe statement said.
The statement said guidelines on the correct use of protective equipment were available to the home after being published in March and updated in April.
Heritage runs five homes in Victoria and six in NSW.
Aged care homes across the country have experienced significant coronavirus spread, with 1964 COVID-19 deaths reported nationally in the year to June 30 and 2881 over the course of the pandemic.
An independent review of the outbreaks at Epping Gardens and St Basil's found both facilities had poor emergency planning, inadequate staff training and insufficient infection prevention and control procedures.
Last month, two former managers at St Basil's began Supreme Court action to avoid giving evidence at an upcoming coronial inquest into the deaths, arguing doing so may incriminate them in any future criminal prosecution.
Both the Heritage Care and St Basil's matters are listed for a hearing in Melbourne Magistrates' Court in August.
Analyze the information for the case study given above and report addressing the following questions.
Task
A. Does Heritage Care owe a 'duty of care' to the residents in its aged care facilities across Victoria and NSW? In your answer discuss the legal principle of duty of care, with particular emphasis on duty of care in aged care.
B. Discuss whether Heritage Care was negligent in its care of its residents during the Covid-19 pandemic (apply section 5B of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)).
C. Do residents of aged care facilities have a contract with the aged care provider? What is the nature of such contracts? Note: you will need to perform research on contracts between residents and providers of aged care facilities in Australia.
D. To protect aged care residents, there is a Charter of Aged Care Rights in Australia. Discuss whether Heritage Care breached the terms of Charter of Aged Care Rights during the Covid-19 pandemic.
E. Discuss whether Heritage Care complied with Australian legislation related to providing a safe working environment for its staff.
F. What processes should Heritage Care implement to avoid future incidents as described in the article above?