Year: 2021

We have been informed that an employee at Taylor House at Whiddon Easton Park has tested positive to COVID-19. As a precaution, residents in Taylor House, where the employee works, are in isolation and employees are wearing full PPE across Whiddon Easton Park.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. As an additional precaution at this time, employees at Taylor House have undertaken a rapid antigen test today, which have all produced negative results. Whiddon Easton Park has recommenced rapid antigen testing of employees as a precaution for now.

Our robust COVID-19 management plan has meant that we have limited movement across our care homes and strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes. As a precaution, we have closed our aged care campus to all visitors for now.

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.

This afternoon, we will receive further direction from the Public Health Unit about any additional testing of residents and employees. We will provide another update this afternoon once we know more around this.

30 November 2021

We want to provide you with a further update following our message to you yesterday.

The SES have advised that there still remains no risk to our care homes (Robert Young and Jessie Hunt) at this point in time. The river levels remain steady at this time, down from yesterday’s peak.

We are pleased to share that the phones at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young are back up and running again, so once again you can contact us directly.

We thank you for your patience and understanding and will provide another update if we receive any further information.

29 November 2021

Further to our message sent yesterday evening in regards to the current flood situation, the SES have advised us that there is no risk to residents at our care homes at Whiddon Narrabri Jessie Hunt or Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young.

Our phone lines at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young are currently not working. We ask that for now, you direct any enquiries to Whiddon’s 1300 738 388 phone line.

We will provide another update tomorrow, or sooner if anything changes.

25 November 2021

Due to low levels of community transmission of COVID-19 in the local area, as of next Monday 29 November, we will be offering rapid antigen testing as an optional screening tool, rather than asking employees and visitors undertake a rapid antigen test upon arrival at Whiddon Easton Park.

We do remain proactive in ensuring our residents, employees and visitors stay safe, so we do ask that you continue to strictly follow all guidelines, processes and policies that are in place. It is important that we all stay vigilant and do not let complacency creep in. Please be reassured that if you wish to take a rapid antigen test, we will have them available for you to do so.

We are closely monitoring for COVID-19 risks in our community and may need to again request visitors and employees to take rapid antigen testing as a precautionary measure at any time, if we feel that this is required to help protect everyone in our family.

We thank you for your understanding and patience. Please speak to your Manager or Supervisor if you have any questions.

26 November 2021

Due to low levels of community transmission of COVID-19 in the local area, as of next Monday, we will be offering rapid antigen testing as an optional screening tool, rather than asking that visitors and employees undertake a rapid antigen test upon visiting Easton Park.

We do remain proactive in ensuring our residents, employees and visitors stay safe, so we do ask that you continue to strictly follow our visitation guidelines and do not visit if you are unwell. Please be reassured that if you wish to take a rapid antigen test, we will have them available for you to do so.

We are closely monitoring for COVID-19 risks in our community and may need to again request visitors and employees to take rapid antigen testing as a precautionary measure if we feel that this is required to help protect everyone in our family.

Please be reminded that you must pre-book your visit and follow the visitation guidelines below:

• all visitors must wear a surgical mask
• you must have received a second dose of a COVID vaccination at least 14 days prior to your visit (visitors over 12 years old)
• where visits include a child under 12, it is  strongly recommended, where possible:
  – the visit is in an outdoor area
  – the child should wear a mask 
  – the child should have a rapid antigen test (RAT) just before the visit
• practice good hand hygiene and social distancing
• meet in the resident’s room and not in common areas
• check-in through our visitor check-in system and the Service NSW app
• do not visit if you have been to any COVID-19 hotspot venues or locations, or to any interstate locations of concern
• do not visit if you are unwell and have any COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• do not visit if you are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• do not visit if you live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating
• do not visit if you are waiting for a COVID-19 test result

We thank you for your understanding and patience.

22 November 2021

We want to advise you that the COVID-19 booster vaccination will be offered to residents at Whiddon Casino on 22 January 2022. The vaccinations will be conducted onsite at Whiddon Casino. We are starting discussions with residents and resident representatives and now have consent forms available. Please speak to the Director Care Services if you have any questions.

Thank you.

18 November 2021

We want to advise you that the COVID-19 booster vaccination will be offered to residents at Whiddon Kyogle on 20 January 2022. The vaccinations will be conducted onsite at Whiddon Kyogle. We are starting discussions with residents and resident representatives and now have consent forms available. Please speak to the Director Care Services if you have any questions.

Thank you.

18 November 2021

We are very pleased to welcome back visitors to Whiddon Moree as of tomorrow, Friday, 19 November. We understand that this has been a difficult time and we thank you for your patience, and for helping to keep everyone safe, while the number of COVID-19 cases in the region was high.

As we welcome you back, we’d like to remind you of some important guidelines from NSW Health for visiting our care home.

Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children under 12 years per day. 

Please note that visits must be pre-booked with our team and visitors must ensure:

• they have a rapid antigen test onsite when they arrive
• they wear a surgical mask
• they have received a second dose of a COVID vaccination at least 14 days prior to their visit (visitors over 12 years old)
• where visits include a child under 12, visits are strongly recommended to take place in an outdoor area, children should wear a mask and the child should have a rapid antigen test just before the visit – this can be done onsite at Whiddon Moree
• they practice good hand hygiene and social distancing
• meet in the resident’s room and not in common areas
• they check-in through our visitor check-in system and the Service NSW app
• they do not visit if they have been to any COVID-19 hotspot venues or locations, or to any interstate locations of concern
• they do not visit if they are unwell and have any COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• they do not visit if they are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• they do not visit if they live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating
• they do not visit if they are waiting for a COVID-19 test result

We thank you for your understanding and patience.

12 November 2021

We have received advice from Queensland Health that there is an escalating risk of cases in the regions of Goondiwindi and Gold Coast, which now includes areas around Beaudesert in the Metro South region. As a result, we have been encouraged to ask visitors to once again wear masks when visiting Whiddon Beaudesert Star. We support this recommendation as it provides an important safety measure for residents, employees and visitors at this time.

Please do remember to book your visit in advance and follow our visitation guidelines.

Thank you for your understanding as we help keep everyone in our family safe.