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Families of Newmarch House residents consider class action

Newmarch House residents spent weeks in isolation and lockdown amid the deadly outbreak.

Newmarch House residents spent weeks in isolation and lockdown amid the deadly outbreak.

A class action is being considered against Anglicare after 19 residents died at its coronavirus-hit Newmarch House nursing home in Sydney.

Family members have approached lawyers who allege Anglicare was negligent in its handling of the health crisis and breached its duty of care to residents.

Lisa Flynn from Shine Lawyers said COVID-19 was brought into the nursing home, near Penrith in Sydney’s west, by a staff member who was sick and should not have come to work.

The resulting outbreak is still one of Australia’s worst, with 37 residents and 34 staff catching the virus, and 19 residents dying.

Ms Flynn alleges Anglicare was ill-equipped to handle the outbreak.

“We will be seeking compensation on behalf of the families of the deceased,” she said.

“The reality is lives would have been saved if Newmarch House had the right protocols and medical care procedures in place and adhered to them from the start.”

Ms Flynn said family members wanted to know why their relatives weren’t immediately taken to hospital after testing positive to the coronavirus.

NSW Health officially declared the Newmarch House COVID-19 outbreak over in mid-June.

Anglicare has been contacted for comment.

-AAP

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