Audit Finds Broughton Hall Failed to Provide Infectious Outbreak Guidelines

An audit of aged care facility Broughton Hall, conducted as a result of the death of five elderly residents in April, has revealed the home failed to provide staff with access to key infectious outbreak management guidelines, resulting in delays in reporting and identifying a killer gastro outbreak.

Buried on page 24 of the 27 page Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency report is the damning finding:

Staff did not have access to guidelines for managing an infectious outbreak. Legislated guidelines were not followed during a recent gastroenteritis outbreak leading to delays in reporting and identification of the cause of the outbreak. Management of the recent gastroenteritis outbreak did not follow documented guidelines. P.24

The report goes onto to say that:

The home does not have an effective surveillance to facilitate the early detection of an outbreak. P.26

Shaun Hudson, State Assistant Secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) Victorian Branch said that the shocking findings raised serious questions about Broughton Hall's conduct in the lead up to the gastro outbreak that resulted in five deaths.

"Preparedness for infectious outbreaks in aged care communities is often the key to saving lives," Mr Hudson said.

"Unfortunately, the audit results raise serious questions as to whether lives could have been saved if proper infection control procedures were put in place."

Mr Hudson said that the HSU was also absolutely outraged that Broughton Hall had not had one single sanction placed on it by the Howard Government.

"The failure of the Howard Government to sanction Broughton Hall calls into question it's commitment to providing safe homes for our elderly," Mr Hudson said.

"We call on the Federal Minister for Ageing, Christopher Pyne, to immediately review the decision not to impose sanctions on the home and to also release the Broughton Hall audit results in full.

"Five people died here - and yet what we have been presented with is a heavily edited document that has attempted to bury the truth. The families of the victims deserve the truth and the Minister has a responsibility to deliver it."

Mr Hudson said that the audit findings also lent credibility to staff and Union claims that important infection management guidelines were only distributed a week after the outbreak occurred.

"The Howard Government must make further investigations into reported claims that staff were instructed to backdate infection control documents - this is a serious allegation that must be looked into once and for all," Mr Hudson said.

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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU)
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Last Modified: Thursday, 05-Jul-2007 12:47:26 EST

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