Year: 2021

20 October 2021

In an effort to support our employees to understand more about salary packaging, AccessPay are offering a number of live webinars commencing from Thursday 21 October 2021.

These free webinars are aimed at helping employees to learn more about salary packaging and the additional benefits that accompany it. The webinars can be accessed from a desktop or mobile device and viewed in a web browser or a free app.

The webinars are delivered live and will offer a Q & A session at the end. The content of each webinar will be the same, so employees only need to attend one (1) session.

To join one of the live webinars, please click the below session link from any device (please select the join via web option):

Date	Time	Link to join
Thursday 21st October	10.00 am	Click to join webinar
Thursday 21st October	4.00 pm	Click to join webinar
Monday 25th October	11.00 am	Click to join webinar
Monday 25th October	4.00 pm	Click to join webinar
Wednesday 27th October	10.00 am	Click to join webinar

 

If you experience any issues logging into the webinar, please try copying the link into Google Chrome.  

For any employees who are unable to attend the webinars but would like to know more about salary packaging, please click the link below to book a telephone appointment instead: BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

https://accesspay.com.au/

11 October 2021

Whilst the stay at home orders have been lifted across the state, there continues to be COVID-19 community transmission in Grafton. To continue to keep our residents safe, we are asking that families consider their visits to our homes carefully and if you can delay the visit until the community transmission decreases, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you do still wish to visit, we ask that you carefully check the multiple exposure sites prior to visiting.

Please note the following if you do choose to visit:

• Visitors, 12 and over, must be fully vaccinated and their second dose was received at least 14 days prior to their visit and visitors must show evidence of this
• Visits must be pre-booked. Visitors will not be able to visit unless they have made a booking prior to visiting
• Two visitors are permitted per day, per resident
• Visitors must scan-in on our visitor check-in system AND through the Service NSW app
• Visitors must practice good hand hygiene and social distancing
• All visitors must wear a surgical mask
• Visits must take place in a resident’s room and not in common areas

Please do not visit if:

• you have not had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or had your second dose within the last 14 days
• you have been to any COVID-19 hotspots, locations or venues of concerns
• you are unwell and have COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• if you are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• if you live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating
• if you are awaiting a COVID-19 test result

8 October 2021

You would have received a message from us yesterday with some good news about the return of visitation from 11 October. Following us sending this message, we received an influx of requests for bookings of visits.

To facilitate these requests as best as we can and, to make the booking process easier for families, we ask that you book in your visiting by phoning our team during business hours, Monday to Friday. We thank you for your patience as we accommodate these bookings as best as we can.

In addition, we have opened up bookings at designated booking times (below) from Monday – Friday only at this stage, to ensure we can adhere to capacity limits at any one time. Please note that we are not booking in recurring visits at this stage, so we can ensure everyone has an opportunity to visit their loved ones. We do hope to increase these booking options very soon.

• 9am – 10am
•  10.30am – 11.30am
• 1pm – 2pm
• 3.30pm – 4.30pm

We thank you for your understanding and patience and we look forward to seeing you soon.

7 October 2021

NSW Health has released new information about visiting an aged care home in NSW from Monday 11 October. 

Please note some important changes to visiting a Whiddon care home in response to these new guidelines. This includes the need for visitors to be fully vaccinated and their second dose must have been received at least 14 days prior to visiting. Children under 12 are not be permitted to enter an aged care facility for now.

Please note that when you visit, you will need to show proof of being fully vaccinated. To find out the best way to get proof of your COVID-19 vaccinations for your situation click here.

Visitors are permitted to a Whiddon aged care home from Monday 11 October, under the following requirements:

• Visitors, 12 and over, must be fully vaccinated and their second dose was received at least 14 days prior to their visit and visitors must show evidence of this. Children under 12 are not permitted for now
• Visits must be pre-booked. Visitors will not be able to visit unless they have made a booking prior to visiting
• Two visitors are permitted per day, per resident
• Visitors must scan-in on our visitor check-in system AND through the Service NSW app
• Visitors must practice good hand hygiene and social distancing
• All visitors must wear a surgical mask
• Visits must take place in a resident’s room and not in common areas

Please do not visit if:   

• you have not had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or  had your second dose within the last 14 days
• you have been to any COVID-19 hotspots, locations or venues of concerns
• you are unwell and have COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• if you are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• if you live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating

How do I make a booking?

To book in your visit, please contact the care home where your loved one lives, or use our new app, Whiddon Connect, to request a booking. If you haven’t downloaded this app yet, you can find out how to by clicking here.

Once again, we are very pleased to welcome you back. We’ll see you soon!

7 October 2021

We are pleased that it has been announced that visitors will be able to return to aged care homes in NSW from 11 October. We want to provide an update on what this means for visiting your loved one at Whiddon Easton Park.

We welcome this news and genuinely can’t wait to welcome you back. We understand and appreciate that this announcement must bring you great joy and relief to be able to see your loved ones again very soon.

While this is great news, we do ask that you take the time to read the important visitation guidelines and requirements below, many of which are set by NSW Health. It is very important that everyone continues to stay vigilant and do all that we can to keep residents, employees and visitors safe. We have not had any cases of COVID-19 at Whiddon and will continue to ensure that our COVID-19 protocols and processes are robust, including our screening procedures.

Please note that when you visit, you will need to show proof of being fully vaccinated. To find out the best way to get proof of your COVID-19 vaccinations for your situation click here. Under the NSW Health requirements, visitors aged 12 years and over will be permitted to visit if they are fully vaccinated and their second dose was received at least 14 days prior to their visit. Children under 12 are not be permitted to enter an aged care facility for now.

Visitors are permitted to Easton Park from Monday 11 October, under the following requirements:
Based on current advice, the stay-at-home order for Greater Sydney will lift from Monday, however if this changes, the proposed changes to aged care visitations may not proceed.

As a precaution and to continue to keep residents safe, Whiddon Easton Park will require all visitors to conduct a rapid antigen test prior to visitation and/or entering any of the care homes. To facilitate this, and the number of visitors that we are expecting to Easton Park, we will be holding two sessions for visitation per day. These will be at 10 am and 2.30pm,  7 days per week. We are required to ensure that there is a maximum capacity of visitors at one time, which is why we need to ensure visits are booked. There will be no time limit on how long you stay once you arrive.

Visitors will be required to attend a testing area where they will be assisted to conduct the Rapid Antigen Test, this will take approximately 20 minutes per test and will be required on each and every occasion that you visit. We understand that this process is not an easy one, however we do believe this is an important part of keeping residents safe and as such, ask for your patience and understanding at this time.

Whilst you are waiting for your test result (15 minutes), you will be able to check-in and show evidence of your vaccination.

Please note the following:

• Visitors, 12 and over, must be fully vaccinated and their second dose was received at least 14 days prior to their visit and visitors must show evidence of this
• Visits must be pre-booked. Visitors will not be able to visit unless they have made a booking prior to visiting
• Two visitors are permitted per day, per resident
• Visitors must scan-in on our visitor check-in system AND through the Service NSW app
• Visitors must practice good hand hygiene and social distancing
• All visitors must wear a surgical mask
• Visits must take place in a resident’s room and not in common areas

Please do not visit if:   

• you have not had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or  had your second dose within the last 14 days
• you have been to any COVID-19 hotspots, locations or venues of concerns
• you are unwell and have COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• if you are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• if you live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating

How do I make a booking?

To book in your visit, please contact the care home where your loved one lives. Please find phone numbers below:

For Arthur Webb Court: 02 9827 6725
For Easton Park Units: 02 9827 6669
For Sir David Martin: 02 9827 6666
For Taylor House: 02 9827 6774

You can also use our new app, Whiddon Connect, to request a booking. If you haven’t downloaded this app yet, you can find out how to by clicking here.

Once again, we are very pleased to welcome you back. We’ll see you soon!

6 October 2021

We have been notified of a number of new cases of COVID-19 in the region. As a precaution, for now, we are only allowing visits at Whiddon Grafton and Whiddon Maclean under exceptional circumstances such as end of life visits or to provide essential care services.

It is our highest priority to keep our residents, families and employees safe and well. We genuinely understand that this is a difficult time and we want you to know that our teams are working hard to keep you connected to your loved ones through phone and video calls wherever possible.

We also have our new app, Whiddon Connect, that we encourage you to download. You can book in video chats with your loved one on this app by contacting our team. You can also see COVID-19 updates and photos of your loved one enjoying activities. For more information on Whiddon Connect click here.

We thank you for your understanding at this time and will provide a further update soon.

6 October 2021

We just wanted to provide an update to you that when you visit, you will no longer be asked to take a rapid antigen test.

As a reminder, residents may have two visitors per day, provided that they do not come from an area that is under the stay-at-home Orders.

Visits must be pre-booked with our team and visitors must ensure:

• they wear a surgical mask
• they show evidence that they have received their flu vaccine (government requirement)
• 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

Thank you.

DASHAIN

Friday 15th October 2020

At Whiddon, we recognise that the diversity of our organisation is something to be proud of, and to celebrate.

The diversity of our organisation is something to be proud of and to celebrate, however it is important that we work as a team to ensure our residents continue to receive the same level of fantastic care, every day.

As part of our support for culturally specific days and festivals we aim to accommodate leave as requested where possible. With the approaching festival celebrations there will be a number of team members away on approved leave.

If you are rostered to work during the festival period and you have not been granted approved leave, you are required to attend your rostered shifts. If you are sick during the festival period and are unable to attend your shift you will be required to provide a medical certificate, this will include for the days before and the day after the festival period.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your manager.

We thank you for your support.

Sharon Fletcher

 

5 October 2021

As mentioned in a previous update, due to recent storms in the area, our phone lines at Whiddon Redhead have been impacted. This includes calls to residents’ phone lines. We want to let you know that we are continuing to work to rectify this situation.

For now, please direct any urgent enquiries via email to our team at redhead@whiddon.com.au – this email address is being monitored regularly.

We do apologise for any inconvenience and want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to have our phones up and running again as soon as we can. We thank you again  for your patience and understanding.

5 October 2021

Due to the lockdown of some suburbs in the Taree area, as a precaution, for now, we are only allowing visits under exceptional circumstances such as end of life visits or to provide essential care services. This will be in place for the remainder of the week.

It is our highest priority to keep our residents, families and employees safe and well. We genuinely understand that this is a difficult time and we want you to know that our teams are working hard to keep you connected to your loved ones through phone and video calls wherever possible.

We also have our new app, Whiddon Connect, that we encourage you to download. You can book in video chats with your loved one on this app by contacting our team. You can also see COVID-19 updates and photos of your loved one enjoying activities. For more information on Whiddon Connect click here.

We thank you for your understanding at this time.