Inquest Reveals Leadership Failures Behind Covid Outbreak at Sydney Aged Care Facility

An inquest into the Covid-19 outbreak at Newmarch House in Sydney has identified significant leadership failures and inadequate testing protocols as contributing factors to the 19 deaths that occurred in 2020. Coroner Derek Lee reported that many of the deaths could have been prevented if universal testing of staff had been implemented promptly.

The coroner's findings indicated poor communication and staff shortages exacerbated the crisis at the Anglicare-run facility. By late March 2020, a rapid spread of the virus led to 37 residents contracting it within weeks of lockdown. The review pointed out that frontline management lacked a clear understanding of the chain of command, which hindered effective responses from senior executives.

Furthermore, the coroner criticized Anglicare for not providing families with accurate information about their loved ones and noted that infection control was severely compromised due to inadequate staffing levels. The decision to treat infected residents on-site instead of transferring them to hospitals was deemed inappropriate, emphasizing that individual assessments should have guided care location decisions.

While the inquest did not issue formal recommendations, it acknowledged that Anglicare had since made improvements to its procedures. Family members of the deceased expressed a desire for accountability and assurance that such a tragedy would not happen again.