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Established in 2003
proudly serving the Northern Suburbs
9 MARCH, 2021
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Taste of success It’s official – Whittlesea Bakehouse’s vanilla slice is the best in Victoria, for the second year in a row. Michael Valenti and Adrian Caporetto are the masterminds behind the recipe. Mr Caporetto said the success comes down to time. “It’s been a long-time recipe,” Mr Caporetto said. “It’s been fine-tuned over time, and then we don’t change a thing. “The only secret [to making an award-winning slice] is make it tasty.” Mr Caporetto said it was “outstanding” to have the bakehouse’s vanilla slice win the top spot. “It was overwhelming, actually. We’re still in shock, a bit.” The bakehouse has seen an increase in “new and different faces” since winning, which Mr Caporetto said “helps the whole town”. “We’re seeing out-of-towners come, which is great. Plus, there’s been people from the new developments [come in] … why wouldn’t they!” Mr Caporetto encouraged everyone to come in and try the award-winning slice, and then explore the “hidden gem” of the Whittlesea township.
Adrian Caporetto and Michael Valenti with their award-winning vanilla slice. (Joe Mastroianni) 229418_01
Michaela Meade
MP blasts care provider By Michaela Meade Heritage Care Epping Garden is “not fit” to hold accreditation as an aged care operator, according to Scullin MP Andrew Giles. Speaking in federal Parliament late last month ahead of the release of final report from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Mr Giles described the deaths of 38 people following a COVID-19 outbreak at Epping Gardens last year as a “preventable tragedy”. According to Mr Giles, an independent report released last year found that frontline workers hired to fill staffing gaps at the nursing home had little experience in aged care. “I remain deeply concerned that Heritage
Care Epping Gardens is not fit to hold accreditation as an aged care operator,” Mr Giles said. “[The report found that] poor infection control, inadequate emergency planning and deficient leadership at the facility were also significant factors in these tragic deaths. “It’s clear: this facility needs to be better managed. We owe it to those who lost their lives to learn from this tragedy and never see it repeated.” The royal commission’s final report, which was released last Monday, found there was “unacceptably high levels of substandard care” across the country’s aged care system. Commissioners Tony Pagone and Lynelle Briggs made 148 recommendations including
a new aged care act, a minimum quality and safety standard for staff time and more funding. In response to the report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced $452 million in funding to address immediate concerns. Mr Giles last week told Star Weekly the final royal commission report highlighted “appalling neglect” in the aged care system. “The final report shows the scale of the challenge that we have to grapple with,” he said. “It’s really important that we do justice to the findings. We need to come together to find a response, as a nation. “I hope [the report is] a wake up call.” Mr Giles said a “real failure of regulation” was clear. “What we’ve seen here is a pattern of
concerning issues … and what happened in the pandemic highlighted those issues,” Mr Giles said. “We should have had a regulatory system in place that prevented this from happening. “Those issues should have been obvious to the regulator and providers.” Nicole McGuinness, whose mother died after contracting COVID-19 at Epping Gardens last year, said aged care is in a “total mess”. “What my family went through was horrific,” Ms McGuinness said. “I don’t want this to ever happen again. “Elderly citizens deserve so much better than what they have.” Ms McGuinness said she hoped the royal commission would bring about change. Heritage Care was contacted for comment.
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