Milena Avramovic was the deputy director of nursing at St Basil's Home for the Aged for five years until August 2020.

Forty-five residents at the Fawkner facility died from COVID-19 in July last year after regular workers were sent home and replaced by inexperienced agency staff.

There were at least 50 positive cases connected to the home when St Basil's staff were declared close contacts, and state and federal health authorities began working on a plan to replace the entire workforce.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to work in aged care again," Ms Avramovic told the Victorian Coroners Court on Monday.

"What happened at St Basil's ... it destroyed me psychologically, emotionally, socially and financially.

"I just hope that what tragically happened, that we can learn a lesson from this and that it is never repeated. This wound will never heal."

Before the pandemic, new staff would be followed or "buddied up" with a more experienced staff member for two or three days when they joined St Basil's, Ms Avramovic told the inquest.

But nothing like this was possible when the facility was handed over to an emergency workforce on July 22.

"It was chaos - there was so much to do," Ms Avramovic said.

"We all worked so hard under huge pressure.

"We were snowed under."

One of the new staff members, Jacinta MacCormack, said things were so disorganised that she raised concerns about the replacement staff not being issued access cards to the facility.

She said some of the new nurses had only been registered for three months, while the facility lacked proper personal protective equipment.

Ms MacCormack also said she received no induction or tour of St Basil's before coming in and that she later saw doctors feeding residents as other staff were too overwhelmed.

"I was sitting on a chair as a 'buddy' and then I was in this war-zone," Ms MacCormack told the inquest.

"I didn't know what my role was supposed to be - I just wanted everyone to feel safe.

"We were all there and we had to be a team."

Earlier on Monday, Nicholas Barboussas told the inquest a person from St Basil's communications team - based in Adelaide - rang him to say his elderly father was safe at the home in July 2020.

But Mr Barboussas knew his 79-year-old father Paul was in fact dying at the Northern Hospital.

"It was probably one of the most distressing moments in this saga," he said.

"Dad was fighting for his life and I'm getting told he was safely tucked away in his room.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked. It was quite a shattering moment."

The inquest continues before Victorian State Coroner John Cain.

Australian Associated Press