COVID-19 and residential aged care in Australia

The aged care sector requires transformation. The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic globally and nationally may create an environment where the required changes are lost to other priorities. Australia’s success with the emergency response and management of COVID-19 pandemic are in a large part due to inherent underlying geographic and population factors. When reflecting on this pandemic we must objectively examine the domains of governance, workforce, models of care, evaluation and finally, resources and infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted major gaps in each domain. A prudent approach is required if we are to guard against the high COVID-19 case fatality rate of residents in aged care homes and to progress with much needed long-term changes.