A nurse immuniser has been stood down by Aspen Medical pending an investigation after a north coast Tasmanian aged care resident with dementia was vaccinated against COVID-19 by mistake.
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The upset wife of the vaccinated man at the Devonport facility said she did not want it to happen to anyone else.
"I'm crabby about it," she said.
The woman, who asked not to be named, is her husband's legal guardian and did not consent to him getting vaccinated.
"I told the home he wasn't having the vaccine unless it becomes mandatory, and I didn't sign the consent form, and they just vaccinated him," she said.
The man has lived in the dementia unit at Meercroft Care for 12 months.
His wife said he experienced delirium after taking new medication last year and she did not think there was enough information known about the COVID-19 vaccination.
"I'm not anti-vaccination," she said.
"It's to do with this vaccination and his neurological condition."
The woman said she received apologies from Meercroft and Aspen Medical, the federal government's contracted company administering the aged care vaccinations.
"I've had apologies from a nurse, from the Meercroft CEO, and Aspen Medical, but I'm waiting on the reports," she said.
A spokesperson for Aspen Medical said the matter was being investigated.
"The aged care facility presented and prepared a resident, whose legal guardian had not provided consent, to be vaccinated against COVID-19," the Aspen Medical spokesperson said.
"It was understood by the aged care facility that consent had been provided and they communicated this to our nurse immuniser.
"An additional consent check, as required by our own internal procedures, was not performed by our nurse immuniser at the facility. This individual has been stood down pending an investigation.
"We are supporting our colleague, a highly experienced and valued member of our team, through this period.
"We apologise unreservedly to the resident and their family for any hurt and upset this error has caused, and we are adding additional procedures to minimise this event occurring in the future."
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Meercroft Care chief executive, Wendy Shearer, provided a statement that said Meercroft had begun an investigation to determine how it happened and to identify any additional checks that should be put in place to ensure it never happens again.
"This (March 16) an incident occurred where an Aspen Medical officer mistakenly gave a Meercroft resident a vaccine without the proper consent form. Meercroft takes issues of informed consent extremely seriously and is devastated that this mistake has occurred. We immediately contacted the relevant family and reported and apologised for the incident," the statement said.
"We continue to monitor closely for any possible side effects.
"Meercroft cares deeply about our residents and their welfare. We exist to provide good care to older Australians."
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said a report that a resident at Meercroft Care received a COVID-19 vaccination without consent is concerning.
"The government has asked all aged care and vaccination providers, to review their protocols regarding consent to ensure an incident like this does not happen again," Senator Colbeck said.
"The government's focus for the vaccination rollout has always been to put safety first - that is our primary aim. It means aged care providers are required to responsibly ensure documentation is available for vaccination teams."