Two aged care providers said the rollout had been mixed,with some facilities receiving doses on time while other facilities had their vaccination bookings cancelled at short notice. The only staff at both providers who have been vaccinated so far had received leftover doses from the resident rollout.

Annie Butler,federal secretary of the Australian Nursing&Midwifery Federation,said there were ongoing worries with the pace of the aged care rollout.

“We are getting concerned for our members that the rollout is just not getting to the facilities fast enough,” she said. “If the virus gets into aged care,the consequences will be devastating … so we need to make sure that they’re protected.”

The spokesperson for one large provider,which didn’t want to be named because it was generally supportive of the rollout and being included in phase 1a,said the vaccination teams had treated residents well and communicated with staff.

The real problem was getting the vaccines on the ground,with some facilities having bookings cancelled at short notice with no new dates confirmed. “When the teams roll up on time it’s great,” the spokesperson said. “It’s been a shame when it hasn’t happened.”

The large provider,which has facilities in more than one state,said so far the only vaccinations staff had received were ones left over after all residents had been vaccinated.

“There’s no denying we’re behind,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson from another aged care provider,who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be publicly critical of the government,said their staff were meant to start receiving vaccines in early April.

“But we’re not confident,there have been delays all over the place,” the spokesperson said.

Staff for that provider have also received some leftover doses,but most would be getting their vaccines through a mix of GP clinics or pop-up vaccination hubs. So far,the spokesperson said there has been no information about how that will work.

The Health Department spokeswoman said aged care staff had several options for vaccination. They could access vaccinations through GP clinics or Commonwealth respiratory clinics,she said,and some would be able to get vaccinated at their facilities.

“From mid-April,aged care workers will be able to access a COVID-19 vaccination through dedicated worker vaccination clinics,” she said.

Ms Butler said the initial plan to vaccinate residents and workers at the same time was changed because of supply issues with the international AstraZeneca doses.