Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton's team was so poorly funded that top bureaucrats warned the Andrews government multiple times the state's public health unit was the worst resourced in the country.The Sydney Morning Herald
Public health officers in the department's communicable disease and prevention control unit had been managing high case loads for many years, according to the documents. “Unfortunately the main outcome for successful public health is the absence of disease, and it has taken the pandemic to lay bare the true deficiencies in the Victoria system,” a DHHS source said this week.
“All positive cases are interviewed by the contact tracing team, and we’ll continue to provide the team with the resources they need to manage this unprecedented global pandemic.” Only about half of the public health officers in March were nurses, and the remaining team had people who usually deal only with food-borne outbreaks, such as salmonella.
Once a person is confirmed as contracting COVID-19, their doctor or lab technician contacts the department, and relays to a staffer their details as well as the details of the patient.
As Victoria struggles a Covid-19 surge, lockdown and added misery. Australia’s business council wants to address China with appeasement!? For the lovely Pandemic!? For the lies!? For the insults? For the death? Sickness? you greedy spineless China ass lickers! Compensation!
StavvieS No. Wrong. CHO had (unbelievably) the authoritarian power to control individuals and businusses with presumably billions of dollars impact. CHO equally had unlimited power to obtain any resource and assistance from any government department.
Since 1992 we’ve had 7 years of Kennett,4 years of Baileau(sic) and co. 17 years of labor to fix stuff ups. What happened?
Get life the Age. Stop spreading nonsense. Shocking reporting after being bought by channel 9. Shouldn’t you be independent? No wonder people read guardian, much less rubbish.
There are some loopholes there definitely.
They couldn’t afford more health staff as they spent it on pay rises for Politicians.
mj1603 a paper based IT system? Took me 10 mins to build a digital track and trace using Nintex
He orders people locked up, police checkpoints and compulsory masks because of COVID19 but studiously ignores the generic drug treatment hydroxycholoroquine that has cured thousands of COVID patients in America.
It’s always amazing how the incumbent is often blamed for historical issues. Even if the incumbent isn’t perfect, the tainting is always there.
The sheer incompetence of the Andrews Govt beggars belief.. When is Dan Andrews going to step away and admit he is not upto the job of leading Victoria thru this pandemic
Seriously Victoria deserves a better leader!
The CHO office in VIC is a Kennett stripped office that was never able to convince subsequent Govts, Labour or Liberal, that it desperately needed to have it's resources & power built back up to deal with a pandemic. It needs to be modelled along the lines of NSW Health.
Of course more Andrews bashing.. everyday, relentless
Spent all the money on Safe Schools and unicorns.