Year: 2022

3 June 2022

We’re please to share that since our last update, we have not had any further positive test results come back from employees who have been tested. We are also seeing employees return to work which is great news!

In addition, we have not had any residents test positive to COVID-19.

We continue to work with the Public Health Unit, and remain in exposure mode for now. We plan to revisit this early next week.

Visitation is still permitted for now. We ask that all visitors undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young and wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home. Visits must be pre-booked. Please do not meet in any common areas and refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

We thank you for your understanding and support.

3 June 2022

We are pleased to advise you that the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Grafton has been declared over by the local Public Health Unit. This is welcome news. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

As of Monday, 6 June, visitors will be welcomed back into our care home. As a reminder, please ensure that you pre-book your visits and refrain from visiting if you are unwell. You will be required to wear an N95 mask when you visit and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry.

We thank our employees for their ongoing dedication and work to keep our residents, visitors and employees safe. And again, we thank you for your support and understanding. This is very much appreciated by our team.

10 June 2022

Whiddon is participating in an exciting project called Design for Care. The project is being led by researchers and psychologists from Curtin University (Perth) and the University of Sydney. This project will help us better understand how to support wellbeing in the aged care sector and provide you with an even better employee experience.

We will be holding a session on Tuesday, 14 June at 2.30pm at Whiddon Moree and encourage you to attend. Below is more information about the Design for Care Survey.

We also have a video for you which you can watch here: Design for Care

3 June 2022

Dear Team,

As you will be aware there was a site audit conducted by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission from the 10^th-12^th May, 2022. We have received feedback from the Audit and as a result there are several issues that need to be addressed.

The Auditors picked up issues with the following:-

1. Staff compliance to Mask Wearing – As a reminder staff must wear their masks covering their nose and mouth and avoid touching their mask while it is on.
2. Bare below the elbow – Infection control practices were breached and staff were observed to be wearing long sleeves, have watches and other jewellery on and staff were observed to have long acrylic nails. It is essential that staff comply with Whiddon’s “Bare below the elbow” strategy to help minimise the risk of infection to not only our residents, but also to eachother.
3. Documentation and Sharing of Information at handover – In some areas our documentation was lacking and importantly, specific resident related strategies to minimise behaviours was not shared adequately at handover. Moving forward, we will revisit how we share this important information to ensure that this is passed on to all of our team members to assist with behaviour management strategies.
4. Education – It was identified that many of Wingham’s staff have not completed their Mandatory Training. As a reminder it is also a condition of employment that staff keep up to date with their Mandatory Training requirements. As a result of this, all staff will be required to complete Mandatory Training on the following subjects by September 1^st
   1. Complaints Management
   2. Dignity of Risk
   3. Infection Control
   4. SIRS
   5. Restrictive Practices
   6. Quality Standards
5. Facility Cleanliness and Clutter – The general cleanliness and clutter throughout the facility was raised by the Auditors. It is important that we all work together on this as many of the issues identified were a result of poor staff practice eg wet towels left on the floor, rubbish on the floor, broken items left in use, wheelchairs and other equipment dirty.
6. Smoking Areas – Please note that both residents and staff can only smoke in designated smoking areas. This is to ensure appropriate distance is kept from equipment, the building and chemicals.

Please note that these matters can be addressed fairly quickly and easily, however we do need to come together to achieve this. By doing this we will also help support our residents to live a comfortable and safe life.

Kerrie Paul
Deputy Director of Care Service
Whiddon Wingham

1 June 2022

We wanted to provided you with an update on our Whiddon Largs care home. We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and are pleased to advise you that from today, residents in the Casuarina wing are no longer required to isolate. This is welcome news and we are carefully managing this de-isolation to ensure the safety of residents.

The local Public Health Unit have advised that residents in the Jacaranda wing remain in isolation at this stage. We will continue to monitor our residents in this wing and provide further updates as they come through. Please be assured that if your loved one tested positive to COVID-19, you would be contacted directly by the Registered Nurse on duty.

From tomorrow, Casuarina wing may return to pre-outbreak arrangement (two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children under 12 years per day). For now, visitation to the Jacaranda wing is limited to one nominated partner-in-care. All visits must be pre-booked. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 mask. Partners-in-care may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

On behalf of the team at Whiddon Largs, we sincerely thank you for your cooperation and support over this challenging time.

1 June 2022

Further to our previous update, we have had an additional resident test positive to COVID-19. The local Public Health Unit have recommended further PCR testing of residents and employees tomorrow. Until the results of these tests are returned to us, the local Public Health Unit have advised that only compassionate or essential visits should be permitted at this time (which must be pre-booked).

We have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all precautionary measures are in place and continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and are following their advice.

Employees must wear an N95 mask and face shield, and full PPE in the Violet Wing. They must also complete a rapid antigen test, and social distancing must be observed at all times.

We want to thank you for your understanding and patience during this time, and we will provide a further update once we have received the PCR test results.

1 June 2022

Further to our previous update, we have had an additional resident test positive to COVID-19. The local Public Health Unit have recommended further PCR testing of employees and residents tomorrow. Until the results of these tests are returned to us, the local Public Health Unit have advised that only compassionate or essential visits should be permitted at this time (which must be pre-booked).

We have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all precautionary measures are in place and continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and are following their advice.

All visitors are required to undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Beaudesert and will be asked to wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home.

We want to thank you for your understanding and patience during this time, and we will provide a further update once we have received the PCR test results.

31 May 2022

We are pleased to advise you that the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Bourke has been declared over by the local Public Health Unit. This is welcome news. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

As a reminder, please ensure that you pre-book your visits and refrain from visiting if you are unwell. You will be required to wear an N95 mask when you visit and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry.

We thank our employees for their ongoing dedication and work to keep our residents, visitors and employees safe. And again, we thank you for your support and understanding. This is very much appreciated by our team.

31 May 2022

We are pleased to advise you that the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Wee Waa has been declared over by the local Public Health Unit. This is welcome news. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

As a reminder, please ensure that you pre-book your visits and refrain from visiting if you are unwell. You will be required to wear an N95 mask when you visit and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry. Once again, we thank you for your support and understanding.

We thank our employees for their ongoing dedication and work to keep our residents, visitors and employees safe. And again, we thank you for your support and understanding. This is very much appreciated by our team.

31 May 2022

We have had an additional 7 residents test positive to COVID-19 and are conducting further COVID-19 testing today and Thursday as directed by the local Public Health Unit.

For now, visitation remain restricted to one visitor per resident at this time (for compassionate or essential visits only). These visits must be pre-booked. We do ask you to consider delaying your visit for now if possible. If you would like to book in a video call with your loved one, please speak with our team.

All visitors are required to undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Grafton and will be asked to wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home.

We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and are following their advice.

We want to thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.