Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very happy to respond. We are referring, of course, to the issues in relation to the Holy Spirit home in Carseldine, where a doctor failed to complete the training and where the doctor subsequently administered a higher than prescribed dose. A number of steps have occurred. Firstly, the secretary of the department has met with and spoken with the CEO, initially, and also with the chair of the company. I'm advised that the CEO is being stood aside as a consequence of the discussions and in particular that the company is installing new management. They are bringing in additional management. It is a company that has been employed through the course of the pandemic by the Western Australian government and the Victorian government, and in the Northern Territory and New South Wales. It has a long history of employment on that front.

In addition, at the government's request, former Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer of Australia Deb Thoms has been installed to oversee clinical guidance. In addition, there has been a review of the mandated and required training—which was part of the contract, which the company was in breach of—and it has been confirmed that every person involved with a clinical role with the vaccine has completed the training. That has already been done, it has already been reviewed, and it has already been confirmed by the department. In addition to that, what we are doing is bringing in additional clinical support in New South Wales and Queensland. That has been a direct response under the guidance of Professor Brendan Murphy, who has met with the company. There was a clear breach. It was a breach of the required standards by the individual, and it was a breach by the company, which not only failed to meet its contractual obligation but also, very significantly, provided false advice. As we can see, there are serious consequences, but, above all else, safety procedures have been put in place.

I can inform the House that prior to question time, at approximately 1 pm, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and I spoke with the chief medical officer for the Metro North district in Brisbane, Dr Liz Rushbrook, who is overseeing the clinical care of the two patients in question—the 88-year-old male and the 94-year-old female. Her advice to us is that both have been unaffected and both are in very strong health. There have been no adverse impacts. Indeed, the woman will be returned, at the request of her family, to her facility this afternoon. The male will stay in hospital for a prepared, already predicted elective surgery procedure. So both are in good health.

See this speech in context