Victorian Aged Care Response Centre Marks Seven Weeks in Operation

In its first 7 weeks of operations, the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre has worked at rapid pace to deploy much-needed resources and expand operational capacity as part of its robust effort to stabilise Victoria’s residential aged care sector.

With 170 outbreaks in Victorian aged care facilities to date, the work of the Response Centre has seen the number of ‘Category 1’ facilities fall to zero from a high of 13 in early August. In addition, there were 119 facilities on the Response Centre’s ‘Category 2’ list of facilities at risk, which this week has reduced to only 3.

Executive Officer of the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, Joe Buffone, says “Our mission has always been the safety and care of residents, the safety of staff, and to stabilise a complex system through unification of effort.”

Many of these positive developments can be attributed to the Response Centre’s rapid intervention effort, comprising more than 450 hospital transfers, enhanced infection control and screening practices, and the deployment of a surge workforce flown in from right around the country.

A remaining 78 facilities are currently experiencing outbreaks. This is 50 fewer than at the peak of the outbreak. The Response Centre is working alongside case managers, public health units, peak bodies and aged care providers to actively monitor and support these facilities as required.

With the acute situation defused, the Response Centre is further ramping up its prevention effort and has begun supporting residents to return to their aged care homes. The Epping Gardens aged care facility now has 15 residents who have been transferred back to their residence.

To date, 94% of metropolitan facilities and 89% of regional facilities have received an in-person prevention visit, where multi-disciplinary teams have provided practical solutions for infection control, assessed existing procedures, and boosted infection and prevention control measures.

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