Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This is from Jayne, speaking about the moment she was told her father had died from COVID-19, in aged care: 'I started crying and I said, "Why didn't anyone call? Why didn't anyone call? I've been ringing and ringing." And they said, "Oh, he was fine this morning and he was fine this afternoon, but when I checked on him he'd passed away.' Prime Minister, why are aged-care residents and their families not getting the support and information that they need and that they deserve?

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

I thank the member for his question. It was Jayne that you referred to. I'd be very grateful if you could let me know what facility you're referring to. I'm happy to provide a further response to the response I'll give now, but it's difficult to do that without knowing what facility you're referring to. I appreciate it might be for privacy reasons that you wouldn't want to raise that in this forum, and so I'd be happy for you to raise that through to the Minister for Health, in terms of his responsibilities in this House, and we can provide a further response.

One of the key lessons out of the Newmarch report was the provision of communications, and I want to thank particularly the member for Lindsay—I don't think she's rostered to be in the chamber today. That was one of the issues that she worked closely on in dealing with that issue at Newmarch. That is why, as part of our response across all the acutely affected facilities in aged care in Victoria, there was additional funding and support provided for Services Australia to provide the process for having outward calls to people and to all the families, to give them a daily update, because it wasn't just the aged-care workforce on the nursing side that was depleted in a number of these cases, but the support teams in the administrative areas were also affected. That's why the Services Australia support was put in, to make sure that these outward calls were occurring, and there are many facilities where that was done. That's why I'm keen to know in which facility you're saying that this took place so we can follow that matter up.

With all the 457 deaths that have occurred, with the passing of any loved one, even in better times, these are very difficult issues for any family to deal with, so I pass on my condolences to Jayne and her family, and we will look specifically at the issue that you've raised. We'll be pleased to take that up and come back to you.