Deadly wave of Covid that hit Sydney’s Newmarch House made more severe by organisational failings, coroner says

Some of the 19 deaths during a 2020 Covid-19 outbreak at a NSW aged-care home could have been avoided had proper testing for the virus been implemented, a coronial inquest has found.

Poor leadership, insufficient communication and staff shortages were highlighted in coroner Derek Lee’s review of the deaths from a wave of the virus that swept through Sydney’s Newmarch House.

If universal testing of staff had been performed once the outbreak had begun, and timelier reporting of results had allowed for cases of Covid-19 to be identified more readily, it would likely have reduced the extent and severity of the outbreak;

Frontline management at Newmarch House did not clearly understand the chain of command and did not get effective support from Anglicare senior executives. “Consequently, Anglicare did not demonstrate adequate leadership and governance during the course of the outbreak”, Lee said;

There was a lack of clarity at Newmarch House as to who, if anyone, bore ultimate responsibility for clinical decision-making;

Anglicare did not give residents’ families enough specific information about their loved one, and in some cases it was inaccurate or understated the seriousness of what was occurring;

During the initial stages of the outbreak there was a “significant deficiency” in the number of staff available which “meant that infection control and the care provided to residents was gravely jeopardised”.

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