Year: 2021

30 December 2021

We have been informed that two residents at Whiddon Moree have shown signs of respiratory symptoms. Each resident has had a Rapid Antigen Test and these have come back negative. PCR swabs have also been taken as a precaution.

Until we receive the results of these swabs, we have closed our care home at Whiddon Moree to visitors for now. Visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life or an essential carer. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

We are contacting the local Public Health Unit to seek further advice and are putting all necessary precautionary measures into place. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more about the situation.

30 December 2021

We have been informed that a resident at Whiddon Easton Park Units – Level 3 has tested positive to COVID-19. Employees are wearing full PPE and we have closed our care home at Whiddon Easton Park Units to visitors for now. Visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life or an essential carer. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

We are pleased to note that the resident who did test positive was in isolation after attending an external Christmas Day event, so we do believe the risk of transmission is low.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more. You can also find additional information in the Older Persons Advocate Network flyer should you need it.

29 December 2021

Further to our update yesterday, we have been advised that we now have two staff members test positive for COVID-19 at Sir David Martin. We have met with the local public health unit today who have advised us that we need to undertake additional testing as directed by NSW Health tomorrow and Sunday.

Our residents are also isolating until we understand whether there’s any risk of greater exposure or outbreaks occurring within our care home.

We will provide a further update once we know more, and again, thank you for your understanding during this time.

You can also find additional information in the Older Persons Advocate Network flyer should you need it.

29 December 2021

Further to our update yesterday, we have been advised that we now have two staff members test positive for COVID-19 at Taylor House. We have met with the local public health unit today who have advised us that we need to undertake additional testing as directed by NSW Health tomorrow and Sunday.

Our residents are also isolating until we understand whether there’s any risk of greater exposure or outbreaks occurring within our care home.

We will provide a further update once we know more, and again, thank you for your understanding during this time.

You can also find additional information in the Older Persons Advocate Network flyer should you need it.

29 December 2021

We wanted to let you know that we have restricted visitation at our Taylor House and Sir David Martin care homes at Whiddon Easton Park as a precaution, due to a very small number of employees testing positive to COVID-19. As a precaution, our employees are wearing full PPE in these care homes and we have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. We are also working closely with the local Public Health Unit.

While this does not impact Arthur Webb Court or Easton Park Units, due to continually rising COVID-19 case numbers in our communities, we do ask that if you can, please reconsider your visit for now. If you do need to visit, please note that rapid antigen testing is mandatory. We also ask that there is only one visitor per day, per resident, for now. It is very important that we take all steps possible to help keep everyone safe.

We want to reassure you that we strictly limit employee movement across our care homes at Whiddon Easton Park and our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care homes. Please note that we are now unable to staff our rapid antigen testing stations. This means that you will now need to do this at the care home you are visiting. Please expect delays when you visit as a result.

The safety of our residents, employees and visitors is our highest priority. We ask that you follow our visitation guidelines and do not visit if you are unwell, are awaiting COVID-19 test results or are a close or casual contact of anyone who has tested positive to COVID-19.

We also encourage you to review the Older Persons Advocate Network flyer containing additional information.

We know this is a challenging time and ask for your patience and understanding.

29 December 2021

We wanted to let you know that an employee at our nearby care home, Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young, has tested positive to COVID-19. In response to this, our employees at Robert Young are wearing full PPE and we have closed our care home at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young to visitors for now. We have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

Whiddon Jessie Hunt remains open to visitors, however, as a precaution, we ask that you wear an N95 mask when you visit, which will be provided to you. We will also be reducing our visiting hours from 10am – 2pm daily for now. We are continuing to conduct rapid antigen testing onsite, to complement our strict screening processes and robust COVID-19 protocols.  With the rising cases of COVID-19 cases in our communities, it is important that we stay vigilant and take all steps possible to help keep everyone safe.

We also want to reassure you that our employees are not working across our Narrabri care homes (Robert Young and Jessie Hunt).

  Please be reminded of the following guidelines when visiting:

• Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over only, per day
• Children under 12 years of age are not allowed to visit
• Visitors aged 12 years and over must have received a second dose of a COVID vaccination at least 14 days prior to their visit
• Visits must not take place in communal areas and if available, visits should occur in outdoor areas
• All visitors must wear a N95 mask while visiting
• Visitors may be asked to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry
• Unvaccinated visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visi

Please ensure that you:

• pre-book your visits. Please note that the number of visitors allowed into a home at any one time may be restricted to enable management of capacity limits.
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms
• refrain from visiting you are a close or casual contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19, unless they have completed their isolation and testing requirements
• refrain from visiting if you are a fully vaccinated person who has been overseas in the last 7 day. Additionally, they must show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test taken on or after day 7 following their arrival
• refrain from visiting if you are not vaccinated and have been overseas in the last 14 days.
• refrain from visiting if you are waiting for a COVID-19 test result
• practice good hand hygiene and socially distance
• check in to the Service NSW app AND Whiddon’s check-in system when you visit

We thank you for your cooperation and support.

29 December 2021

We have been informed that an employee at Whiddon Belmont has tested positive to COVID-19. Employees must wear full PPE, and we have also closed our care home at Whiddon Belmont to visitors for now. We will allow visitors to visit a resident who is at the end of life or for essential care reasons. Families will need to speak to the Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

We are pleased to note that all staff were wearing full PPE so currently, the risk is low.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our COVID-19 response plan is robust and ensures we prioritise the safety of residents and employees.

Those considered contacts of the employee who tested positive, will be contacted directly. There has been no recommendation at this stage by the PHU for employees not directly impacted to self-isolate, and as such, employees can continue to come to work and attend their normal shifts.

We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this.

We ask that if you have any concerns to please speak to your manager in the first instance. Please also remember our confidential EAP service contactable 24/7 on 1800 818 728.

This is a timely reminder to all of us that COVID-19 is still very much with us. We encourage you to have your Booster shot and send evidence of your vaccination to payroll@whiddon.com.au at your earliest convenience. Eligibility for booster shots are for those that have had their second dose at least 5 months ago.

We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more about the situation.

29 December 2021

We have been informed that an employee at Whiddon Belmont has tested positive to COVID-19. Employees are wearing full PPE and we have closed our care home at Whiddon Belmont to visitors for now however, visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life or an essential carer. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

We are pleased to note that all staff were wearing full PPE so currently, the risk is low.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

We have also been conducting rapid antigen testing onsite, to complement our strict screening processes and robust COVID-19 protocols. This will continue at this time.

Those considered contacts of the employee who tested positive, will be contacted directly. We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this.

We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more about the situation.

29 December 2021

Further to our update last week, we are very pleased to let you know that we have received negative COVID-19 test results for all residents. There are currently significant delays with COVID-19 results coming through to us as a result of the community transmission that is currently occurring within the Hunter region.

Due to the ongoing risk, employees will continue to wear full PPE and visitations will remain restricted for now.

We truly thank you for your understanding and patience as we know this has been a difficult time.

We continue to stay vigilant and all take steps to help keep everyone safe within our care home, and hope to give you a further update as soon as possible.

Again, we thank you for your understanding and support.

28 December 2021

We have been informed that an employee at Whiddon Easton Park – SDM has tested positive to COVID-19. Please note that this staff member was in full PPE while working in the care home and was only in the administration area.

As a precaution, employees must wear full PPE, and we have also closed our care home at Whiddon Easton Park – SDM to visitors for now. We will allow visitors to visit a resident who is at the end of life or for essential care reasons. Families will need to speak to the Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our COVID-19 response plan is robust and ensures we prioritise the safety of residents and employees.

We are well practiced in COVID management now and appreciate your ongoing commitment to caring for our residents and each other.