Year: 2021

The decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of working in residential aged care was a National Cabinet decision made on the 28 June 2021.

There have been numerous communications to employees in relation to the requirement which states that from 17 September 2021 all Residential Aged Care employees require at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to come to work.  The requirement comes into effect from 9am on 17 September 2021. This means, from this date if you do not have at least one dose of the vaccine you are unable to come to work.

It is important to understand this is a Government directive and therefore a requirement of employment in Residential Aged Care. Having said that, Whiddon is supportive of the COVID-19 Vaccine as a first line of defence in protection against the virus.

NSW Health have advised that there are limited exemptions to the vaccine requirement. Those unable to receive the vaccination due to a medical contraindication must present a COVID-19 Vaccine Medication Contraindication form signed by their medical practitioner. This form is available here: Contraindication Form

With 20 days to go before this requirement comes into effect it is important that you provide evidence of your vaccination or of your medical contraindication as soon as possible. Evidence should be sent to payroll@whiddon.com.au prior to the 16 September 21.

25 August 2021

The Department of Health have announced a series of webinars on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for residential aged care workers are being held over the coming week.

These webinars are for residential aged care workers to learn more about the introduction of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, to understand their respective state or territory public health orders and how mandatory vaccination and exemptions will be approached.

If you’d like to join the Queensland webinar – please see details below.

Queensland Webinar – FRIDAY 27 AUGUST

The webinar for Queensland residential aged care workers will be held from 2:00pm -3:00pm on Friday 27 August 2021 AEST.

This seminar will be chaired by Commonwealth Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd AM and panellists include:

• Dr James Smith, Deputy Chief Health Officer for Queensland
• David Harmer, Senior Director, Social Policy and Legislation Branch, QLD Health
• Lisa Peterson, Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Department of Health
• Kate Veach, Assistant Secretary, Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU)
• Paul Mitchell, Acting Professional Officer, Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU)
• Lauren Palmer, National Research & Policy Officer, Health Services Union (HSU)

The following link will take you directly into the live webinars at the above date and time.

Special Covid-19 webinar for Residential Aged Care workers

The webinars will be recorded and made available via the department’s website.

24 August 2021

Dear Team,

There have been some recent changes to COVID-19 rules made by NSW Health:

Formal PCR Testing

1. From 23 August, staff who live in the Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland or Fairfield Local Government Areas will no longer be required to provide evidence of COVID-19 surveillance testing every 72 hours.
2. From 30 August, staff who live in an area of concern and work at a facility outside of that area will be required to have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend work, unless medically contraindicated.
3. For unvaccinated staff from the 31^st August, it will become Mandatory for you to have a Rapid Antigen Test Daily.

 Deadline for Vaccination

4. The deadline for all staff to have had at least one dose of the vaccine is the 17 September. That means, if you have not had a vaccine by 16 September, you will not be permitted to work from 17 September.
5. As a reminder, staff who have had their vaccination must provide evidence of this. Please email your vaccination certificate/evidence of vaccine to EP.Vaccinations@whiddon.com.au

 Permits for travelling to and from work 

6. As of the 28^th August staff will require a permit to travel outside of their LGA’s to attend work. Once the form is available this will be sent to all staff so that they can complete if necessary.
7. In the interim it will be helpful to have the following to help confirm that you are an essential worker:

   a) Show your uniform and name badge
   b) Show your roster on your human force app. (if you do not have the App, I would suggest you down load this as a matter of urgency)
   c) Have a printed copy of your roster
   d) Show a copy of the text message with your shift offer
   e) Show your most recent payslips

Thank you for all that you do in keeping yourselves and Residents safe.

Sharon Fletcher
Operations Manager (Whiddon Easton Park)

25 August 2021

We want to provide you with a further update on Whiddon Kelso. As mentioned previously, the COVID-19 tests for employees and residents considered as contacts have returned negative results. Pleasingly, the precautionary tests taken by employees who were considered at a lower risk of exposure, have also all returned negative results.

While we may need to conduct further testing as a precaution, this is very welcome news. We continue to work with the local Public Health Unit in managing our response and to understand what precautions may be able to relaxed over the coming days.

Our teams are working incredibly hard to keep residents connected, entertained and supported during this time. Wherever possible, they are helping residents to stay connected through video and phone calls. You can book a Whiddon Connect, Skype or Zoom session with your loved one by calling the team Whiddon Kelso.

We continue to conduct rapid antigen testing at this time for employees at the start of their shift. This adds an important layer of protection in addition to our robust screening protocols.

We hope this update provides you with some reassurance and we genuinely thank you for your understanding and support.

23 August 2021

Dear Team,

Further to my memo dated 16 August, the deadline for receiving your COVID-19 vaccination is 17 September. That is, if you have not had your first dose by 17 September, you will not be able to work.

According to our records, you are yet to have first your dose of the vaccine. You will need to ensure that you have had a first dose and provide us with evidence of the vaccination prior to 17 September. Staff must make every effort to have had the vaccination and  provide evidence of this by 16 September, 2021 or you will not be able to attend work from the 17^th September 2021.

For pregnant staff, please contact your Manager as a matter of urgency to discuss this and to have the necessary exemption paper work submitted prior to the date.

If you have had the vaccine and are receiving this message, we currently do not have a record of this on file. Please forward your evidence of vaccination as a matter of urgency to EP.Vaccinations@whiddon.com.au

Your vaccination records can be downloaded from the Immunisation Register through Medicare.

A further vaccination clinic will be held on 31 August. To book into this clinic please make contact with Sweta on 9827-6715 or via email are EP.Vaccinations@whiddon.com.au

Thank you

Sharon Fletcher
Operations Manager Easton Park

27 August 2021

REMINDER:

We are pleased to announce that we have secured a number of COVID-19 in-reach vaccination clinics. Please find details of these clinics below to find the one relevant to your location.

If you have received this message , it is likely that you have not yet had a COVID-19 vaccine or you still need to have your second dose. If you have had both doses, please disregard this message.

Please note that the clinic is available to residential and community staff, in addition to residents located at these sites. You can register to receive your first or second dose at the location relevant to you.

To register for a vaccine, please click on the link below. You must register within 24 hours of receiving the link to support vaccine ordering requirements.

To register click:  https://portal.companymedicalservices.com.au/onsiteregistration/whiddon and use the Referral code: whid123

Clinic dates and locations

• Whiddon Easton Park (Glenfield) in-reach vaccination clinic: 31 August, 11am – 5pm
• Whiddon Redhead in-reach vaccination clinic: 1 September, 11am – 4pm
• Whiddon Beaudesert Star in-reach vaccination clinic: 2 September, 11am – 4pm
• Whiddon Mudgee Pioneer in-reach vaccination clinic: 7 September, 11am – 3pm
• Whiddon Wee Waa in-reach vaccination clinic: 8 September, 11am – 2pm
• Whiddon Moree in-reach vaccination clinic: 9 September, 11am – 3pm

23 August 2021

We wanted to clarify some information we provided in a message that sent you earlier this morning. We had stated that the current rate of employees who are fully vaccinated at Whiddon Beaudesert Star is 50%. We want to clarify that 50% of employees have had their first dose of the vaccine and close to 30% have had two doses. We do apologise for this error.

As mentioned, we are also running an in-reach clinic at Whiddon Beaudesert Star in just over a week, to finalise the vaccinations, so we expect this to be much higher again after the next week or so.

23 August 2021

As mentioned in yesterday’s update to you, in response to the risk of possible exposure of COVID-19 at Whiddon Kelso, we undertook COVID-19 testing of residents and employees as a precautionary measure.

This included initial testing of residents and employees considered as contacts. Pleasingly, late last night these tests all returned negative results. While we may need to conduct follow-up tests this week with these residents and employees, this is welcome news.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have also tested other employees at Whiddon Kelso who are at a much lower risk of exposure and are awaiting these results. For now, we continue to ensure that precautionary measures remain in place, such as employees wearing full PPE. We also continue to work closely with the local public health unit and have introduced rapid antigen testing for employees coming on shift.

Rapid antigen tests are on-the-spot screening tests that take ten ten-minutes to produce a result. Whiddon has been using these tests at our care homes in Greater Sydney since mid-July. More recently, we introduced them at our homes in Newcastle and the Far West of NSW. They add an important additional layer of protection and we welcome their use at Whiddon Kelso.

As always, we will provide a further update once we know more, but we do hope that this updates brings you some reassurance.

We understand that this is a difficult time. Our highest priority is to ensure your loved one is safe, well and supported and our teams are working hard to achieve this. We thank you for your understanding and support.

22 August 2021

We want to provide you with a further update following the message that we sent yesterday afternoon. As mentioned in our update, we have been notified that there is a risk of possible exposure of COVID-19 at Whiddon Kelso.

As a precaution, we have taken all steps possible to help ensure that everyone stays safe and well. We are working closely with the local public health unit in managing the situation and implementing all necessary precautions.

Overnight, precautionary COVID-19 tests have been taken from residents who consented to a test and these have now been sent to the lab for testing. Employees are also having tests, again as a precaution.

We genuinely understand that this is a challenging time and we want to reassure you that the safety and wellbeing of your loved ones is our highest priority. Around 90% of our residents are vaccinated against COVID-19 and over 85% of employees.

We are committed to keeping you updated on the situation and will send you a further update once we know more about the situation.

21 August 2021

We have been informed today that there is a risk of possible exposure of COVID-19 at Whiddon Kelso. As a precaution, we are asking that all employees who have worked in any area at Whiddon Kelso on or after 17 August must be tested for COVID-19. Please read the important information below on the testing:

If you are an Assistant in Nursing, please attend Whiddon Kelso tomorrow, Sunday 22 August, between 10.30am and 12.30pm to have a PCR test. This will be conducted via a drive-through testing service. Please do not get out of your vehicle and follow the instructions once you get to site.

For all other employees, please attend Whiddon Kelso tomorrow, Sunday 22 August, between 1pm and 3pm to have a PCR test. This will be conducted via a drive-through testing service. Please do not get out of your vehicle and follow the instructions once you get to site.

As a precaution, residents are currently isolating and employees are wearing full PPE. Our highest priority is to keep everyone in our family safe and well and we are working closely with the local public health unit in managing the situation.