All four homes were under some form of lockdown in January, with 20 per cent of the villages’ 500 staff away and more furloughed.
Shepparton Villages’ chief executive Veronica Jamison said the villages welcomed the announcement made by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday, that ADF teams would be put on stand-by to assist with outbreaks in aged care facilities.
Mr Morrison said 10 teams would be set up to enter facilities with just 24 hours’ notice and work with state health departments and public health agencies.
Those teams would include a registered nurse, medical technicians and other personnel.
Ms Jamison said while the support wasn’t needed at the moment, the situation “can change at any time” and having the option of bringing in support could be helpful.
However, she said there was concern there might not be enough to go around in the event of a nation-wide outbreak similar to the Omicron wave, and that resources might be spent in major metropolitan areas first.
“When we have 300,000 people in the aged care sector and are missing 60,000, (what the ADF has available) won’t be enough,’’ Ms Jamison said.
“I’d like to think we won’t be (overlooked) however I look at what could happen, more aged care facilities are in the cities and that’s where those resources are going to go first.”
Ms Jamison said ideally the face-to-face care would be provided by staff that residents knew, with ADF support to help with cleaning, cooking and other back-room support which would free up staff.
Ms Jamison also wanted to thank staff for their work during the most recent outbreaks, with many staff members cancelling leave or coming back in to help during staff shortages.
She also thanked local politicians, local groups such as Lighthouse and the Shepparton Villages board.
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