Lyndoch Living concerns amid pandemic met with silence

Questions around two people from Melbourne entering Lyndoch and a delay in the issuing of masks to all staff have failed to produce a murmur from the Lyndoch board.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

This past week has seen two extremely serious issues arise at Lyndoch Living aged care in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and yet the response from the board is a wall of silence.

First, Lyndoch only issued masks to all of its staff yesterday: 12 days after the Federal health minister declared masks mandatory for staff in all aged care homes in Victoria.

Second, Lyndoch allowed two people from Melbourne into its facility last Thursday and Friday, despite that city being in full lockdown and a declaration from the Victorian Chief Health Officer that, as of last Wednesday night, tightened access to aged care homes even further.

(https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/visiting-care-facilities-covid-…)

I asked the board members – chair and MPower CEO Kerry Nelson, hairdresser and W’bool City Councillor Sue Cassidy, accountant Kane Grant from Sinclair & Wilson, retired academic Rob Wallis, nursing academics Suzanne Coulson and Lorraine Mielnik, agriculturalist Ron Page, WCC manager Andrew Paton and real estate agent Percy Eccles – if they were concerned and if they intended to investigate.

Silence.

Not a single word.

I am not sure who the board represents, but it is clearly not the community.

We have not been given any explanation, or had any response to these concerns, from the CEO, the chair, or the board.

Lyndoch is community owned in theory, but it might as well be owned by Bupa.

Fortunately there are still people who will speak up for us and the most vulnerable people in our community in the face of this devastating pandemic.

South-west Victoria Upper House MP Bev McArthur said by email last night that she was “alarmed” by the allegations around people from Melbourne entering Lyndoch and would be investigating the matter further.

“There is no question that aged care facilities should have bulletproof infection control strategies, and we already have seen the tragic consequences of failures in this area,” she said.

“I will certainly contact the senior management of Lyndoch Living to ask for explanation of this apparent incident, and reassurance that proper controls are in place to protect vulnerable residents and indeed the whole local community.”

Local MP Roma Britnell was less direct. She suggested concerns about any breaches of the restrictions could be forwarded to the police.

As of today, Victoria is moving toward compulsory masks in public and even tighter restrictions on social contact and travel.

In this climate, I cannot understand why any aged care facility would be taking any risks unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

What is Lyndoch’s reasoning for its actions of the past week?

As it sits, we – the broader community – still have no answers to that question.

Covid-19 questions for Lyndoch Living

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Given Covid-19 is gaining a terrifying grip on aged care homes in Victoria, I sent an email this morning to Lyndoch Living to find out why masks are not yet compulsory for all staff and all visitors.

I also wanted to find out why two professionals from Melbourne were allowed into Lyndoch Living last week, for what appears to have been non-essential, non-medical purposes.

Lyndoch has a ban on visitors who are from or have been in Melbourne.

This is the email:

Dear Lyndoch Media Unit,

I am hoping you can assist with the following questions:

I have had a number of people contact me these past four days in regard to the mask-wearing policy for staff and visitors at Lyndoch Living and why masks are not mandatory.

Can you outline why Lyndoch Living has not yet introduced a compulsory mask wearing policy for all staff given the Federal Government directive on 17 July that all aged care workers across Victoria would be required to do so?

(https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/two-million-more-face-masks-for-victorian-aged-care-and-disability-workers)

Is one of the issues that there are not enough masks available to provide to all staff?

Also, concerns have been raised with me about two visitors to Lyndoch Living last week who were apparently from Melbourne and who stayed in the Waterfront Living complex.

I understand these same people had access to Swinton Wing, while wearing hard hats, which suggests they were not visiting Lyndoch for medical or aged care service related purposes, but related to the construction works at Swinton Wing.

Those who contacted me were understandably concerned that it appears people travelling from Melbourne were permitted into Lyndoch and Waterfront Living complex for non-essential purposes and in contravention of the current ban on Melbourne visitors.

I am hoping you can clarify the situation to put these concerns to rest.

Regards,

Carol

I will let you know if I get a response.

In the meantime, as I write this, there are 764 active cases of Covid-19 in aged care homes across Victoria.

According to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, just under one fifth of Victoria’s 430 aged care facilities had been affected by C19.

Given the increase in C19 cases in south-west Victoria, Cobden Health moved in to full lock down eight days ago.

Mercy Place, in Warrnambool, also moved into temporary lockdown this week until at least tomorrow, with no new visitors other than those who already have visitation plans in place.

Moyne Health, Gillin Park, and Opal aged care have made it compulsory for staff to wear masks.

As Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says in his media release from 17 July above, the government has made another two million masks available to aged care and the disability sector.

The last Covid-19 update on the Lyndoch Living website was that same date, 17 July: 11 days ago.

As I said above, I will let you know if I get a response.

Shifting sands on racehorse access to coastal reserve

The area of Long Dune, Tarerer coast/Spooky’s Beach, Belfast Coastal Reserve that will be opened up to large-scale racehorse training. Image:Chris Farrell Photography.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Cracks in the resolve:

Following on from last night’s post, I can tell you that at least two W’bool City councillors have changed their minds about dozens of racehorses training at Spooky’s Beach in the Tarerer coast/Belfast Coastal Reserve.

The fallout from the Weir/McLean saga is starting to bite.

Cr Peter Hulin is no longer in support of up to 40 racehorses a day using a long dune known as “Hoon Hill”.

(Doesn’t that disgraceful name speak volumes about how this area has been treated over the years? I am going to start calling it Long Dune.)

And Cr Michael Neoh now believes Lady Bay should be enough, given an average of only 22 racehorses a day are now using the main beach.

Here is part of what Cr Hulin said via email:

“In light of recent uncovered abuse of racehorses, I have changed my thoughts of the horses being ridden up “Hoon Hill”.

“Not only could this type of training be detrimental to the horse, but also the environment due to the erosion of the dune system. I cannot see how this could be avoided.

“Access to the beach may be also problematic.”

Cr Hulin made clear he was still a strong supporter of the local racing industry and believed horse training could still happen along the Spooky’s foreshore, provided all the rules and safeguards were followed.

Cr David Owen has always been dead against the idea of allowing 160 horses a day into a coastal reserve, so where does this leave Crs Kylie Gaston, Robert Anderson, Tony Herbert and Sue Cassidy?

Do they still think it is a good idea?

Does it still fit with the focus of a council that has declared a climate change emergency, or was that just more rhetoric?

Aren’t we supposed to be aiming for clean and green and looking after our coastal environment?

I don’t know what the other Crs think, as none of them responded. (#itsjustablip)

I do know, however, that it is getting harder and harder to justify why the racehorses need to be there. Weir has gone. McLean has gone. The Warrnambool Racing Club this year made a record profit….

I hope Crs Neoh, Hulin and Owen can convince the council to revisit this issue now, not after the damage is done to Long Dune and that precious wild beach that makes Warrnambool such a special place.

Thankyou to the Walkley Foundation for funding part of my investigative work with this on-going story.

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Trainer banned as WCC cracks down on Lady Bay breaches

Photographer Steve Hynes captured this jockey in clear breach of the training rules at Lady Bay in March this year, working two horses at once, no high-vis gear and no identifying saddle cloth.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Well blow me down. The Warrnambool City Council is finally taking action against multiple breaches of the rules around racehorse training at Lady Bay.

Apparently, after quite a lengthy process, one trainer has had their permit cancelled, another has been suspended and another has received a warning.

I don’t have any names but if one of them is Jarrod McLean, then I would say it is the least of his worries right now.

This is the first time any serious action has been taken by the WCC against tall of the complaints that have been reported by the public over the past three years. #notalltrainers

Why now? I can only wonder if it’s connected to the Warrnambool Racing Club continuing with its plans to soon move into Spooky’s Beach, near Levy’s Beach, where up to 120 racehorses a day will be able to train, five days a week.

Another 40 a day will be able to train on the long ‘Hoon Hill’ dune.

Things have gone very quiet on this lately, but I can assure you that all of the work is still very much going on behind the scenes to get the beach ready before Lady Bay is cut off to trainers on December 1.

Perhaps the WCC wants to reassure the public that they will be enforcing the rules around having mass racehorse training in a coastal reserve.

I still find the whole Levy’s/Spooky’s plan unjustifiable.

As it happens, thanks to the Walkley Foundation, I have been doing some Freedom of Information applications into the whole Lady Bay and Levy’s situation.

I will save those stories for another day.

In the meantime, thankyou to photographer Steve Hynes for this image of one such breach (two horses, no id, no high vis gear etc), taken at Lady Bay in March this year.

Thankyou to the Walkley Foundation for funding part of my investigative work with this on-going story.

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Racing club whacked with a feather for training breaches

Two for one, no ID, no fluorescent vest : this photo from March 5 captured the lack of regard by some riders for the rules governing horse training at Lady Bay. In three years, no trainer has ever been banned. Image: Steve Hynes.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

The Warrnambool City Council has dragged out its big feather – the one reserved for Midfield Meats, the temporarily-permanent wire fence around the old Criterion Hotel site and other assorted special projects – and gently tapped the Warrnambool Racing Club for multiple breaches of racehorse training rules along Lady Bay.

You may recall the WCC held a meeting with the WRC last month after training resumed at Lady Bay on March 1 and saw just about every rule in the book being broken (#notalltrainers) including riding continually in the soft sand, riding in threes and fours, riding at speed past beach walkers, riding one horse while pulling another, riding without saddle cloth identification or fluorescent vests, on and on it went.

At this special meeting, the council did two things: reminded all of the trainers of their responsibilities (feather tap!) and issued written warnings to two unnamed trainers (feather tap, tap!).

And that was that.

The training rules for Lady Bay have been in place for three years and there have been too many breaches over that time to count and yet nobody, still, has ever been made accountable for breaking the rules, often multiple times.

Again, this is not about being anti horse racing (#notalltrainers), but about a principle and ensuring training access to Lady Bay is seen as a rare privilege rather than a right.

Take that Warrnambool Racing Club! The council throws its best feather at errant trainers.

Can we ever imagine, by way of comparison, the council issuing little notes under windscreens when people overstay their parking: “Sorry driver, you know this is a one hour zone, not a 90 minute zone, please don’t do it again or we will have to fine you.”

Um, no, I can’t imagine that.

For reasons which are yet to be fully explained, justified or proven, the local racing industry is treated like a special beast that is both enormously powerful and apparently terribly fragile all at the same time.

This is why, despite the council pushing madly for user-pays, the racing industry pays virtually nothing to access Lady Bay seven days a week for nine months of the year. The cost is $225 a year per trainer (not per horse), then $6 per beach session and $2.50 per swim.

Of the $6, about half goes back to the WRC to pay for someone to monitor things and make sure trainers don’t break the rules. Given the flagrant breaches that have gone on, the council should be asking for a refund.

It is also why the council is about to hand over more public coastal land at Lady Bay – in exchange for large-scale racehorse training at Levy’s Beach – so the racing industry can build a $500,000 “bespoke” car park for its own use. Can Mayor Tony Herbert explain what part of that deal is good for the public?

According to another document that dropped to The Terrier recently, other permanent fixtures might also be added to Lady Bay to separate the public and horses more safely around the Pavilion carpark and promenade area.

Good grief, is this a public beach or a satellite facility of the WRC?

Lady Bay beach at its finest and how it should be: people enjoying an early morning walk on Easter Monday, with only a handful of racehorses coming and going.

Since the March madness, the errant trainers appear to have pulled their heads in and are sticking to the rules, apart from slowing down near walkers, but this is not because of the WCC flapping its feather.

It’s because the trainers know they are being photographed and videoed by a social-media connected public who, unfortunately, have had to step into the breach and become unwilling and unpaid enforcers to protect the beach.

Once upon a time, beach goers and racehorse trainers co-existed peacefully at Lady Bay because the horse numbers were small and the attitudes were different.

Riders (#notallriders) didn’t tell beach walkers to, quote, “fuck off”. Small, local trainers used to arrive with double floats, not horse transport trucks. The beach was wide and flat, not torn up into thousands of divots.

To claim, as many do, that it has “always” been like this at Lady Bay is a lie. It hasn’t been and those of us who grew up on this beach know it.

Locals who ventured down to Lady Bay today on what was a perfect Easter Monday morning had a reminder of how things used to be: a handful of racehorses, a lot of walkers, a kid with a soccer ball, a few brave swimmers.

This is it how it was and how it should be. For the council to allow otherwise is incomprehensible.

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