Year: 2022

14 April 2022

Firstly, we want to thank you for your incredible efforts and contributions in keeping our residents, and each other, safe at this challenging time.

As a reminder, anyone entering our care homes is required to wear an N95 mask and eye protection. Your mask must cover your nose and should not be removed whilst inside any of our buildings. We understand that wearing PPE may be inconvenient, however, it is an important safety measure at this time and we thank you for your cooperation with this.

As a reminder, employees must complete a rapid antigen test, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station. Please do not come to work if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.

In regards to the situation at Whiddon Easton Park, we have had additional residents and employees who have tested positive to COVID-19 over the last week and we are continuing to work with the local Public Health Unit and follow their guidance.

Pleasingly, we have seen a number of residents and employees at Whiddon Easton Park who have now recovered from COVID-19. We are continuing to conduct COVID-19 testing of residents in locations where residents or employees have tested positive. We are also testing any residents who are displaying respiratory symptoms.

All residents, despite their location may have one visitor, except in the areas where there is a COVID-19 positive resident and this is limited to one nominated visitor or partner in care. Please note that there are no changes to visitation to Arthur Webb Court at this time. We have not had any residents test positive at Arthur Webb Court at this time. All visits must be pre-booked.

Once again, we thank you for all you do in keeping everyone in our family safe.

Whiddon Easton Park Management team

12 April 2022

In very welcome news, the local Public Health Unit have declared the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Hornsby over.

This means that residents may once again, have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children aged under 12 years per day.

Residents who are positive to COVID-19 are required to continue to isolate at this time. They are permitted to have one nominated visitor or partner in care, and their visitor must wear full PPE.

Visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry to Whiddon Hornsby at this time, and are strongly encouraged to have a booster vaccine if they are eligible for one.

When visiting please ensure that you:

• wear an N95 mask and face shield at all times, which will be supplied to you. If you are visiting a COVID-19 positive resident, full PPE must be worn
• pre-book your visit
• stay vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene
• do not meet in any common areas 
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are:
  – fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and you have received a negative rapid antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW.

We thank you for your understanding and ongoing support through this challenging time. We look forward to seeing you soon.

12 April 2022

Since our last update, several additional residents and employees have tested positive to COVID-19 and we are continuing to work with the local Public Health Unit and follow their guidance.

Pleasingly, we have had a number of residents at Whiddon Easton Park who have now recovered from COVID-19.

We are continuing to conduct COVID-19 testing of residents in locations where residents or employees have tested positive. We are also testing any residents who are displaying respiratory symptoms. Please be assured that if your loved one tests positive to COVID-19, we will contact you directly.

All residents, despite their location may have one visitor, except in the areas where there is a COVID-19 positive resident and this is limited to one nominated visitor or partner in care. Please note that there are no changes to visitation to Arthur Webb Court at this time. We have not had any residents test positive at Arthur Webb Court at this time. All visits must be pre-booked.

When visiting please ensure that you:

• wear an N95 mask and face shield at all times, which will be supplied to you. In some areas, you may be required to wear full PPE
• pre-book your visit
• stay vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene
• do not meet in any common areas
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are:
  – fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and you have received a negative rapid antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW.

We thank you for your patience, understanding and ongoing support through this challenging time.

12 April 2022

We wanted to provide a further update on Whiddon Beaudesert Star. We had previously advised that several residents and employees at Whiddon Beaudesert Star had tested positive to COVID-19, in the Clayfield and Upper Rainbow wings.

Following testing over the weekend of residents and employees, we have had two further employees test positive to COVID-19. Pleasingly, no further residents have tested positive. Further testing of residents will be undertaken on Thursday at the direction of the local Public Health Unit, who we are working closely with.

For now, visitation to Clayfield A wing and Upper Rainbow wing is limited to on compassionate grounds, or for essential caring. Please speak with the Director Care Services for approval of such visits.

All visits must be booked. All visitors must complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 face mask. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell, or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result.

We strongly encourage all visitors to have a COVID-19 booster dose if eligible, and remind you to stay vigilant at this time by practicing good hand hygiene and social distancing. Please do not meet in common areas of the care home.

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. Our teams are working hard to keep residents connected to their loved ones as we know how important this is.

12 April 2022 

We have had four employees at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young test positive to COVID-19. We have not had any residents who have tested positive to COVID-19 at this time.

As a precaution, all employees and visitors are required to undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young and will be asked to wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home.

We ask that you please remain vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene when visiting. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell and do not meet in common areas. All visits must be must be pre-booked.

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.

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.

12 April 2022

We have had four employees at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young test positive to COVID-19.

Employees must wear an N95 mask and face shield, wear a gown if exposed to body fluids, complete a rapid antigen test, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station. If you’re feeling unwell please refrain from coming in to work.  

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.

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.

12 April 2022

In very welcome news, the local Public Health Unit have declared the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Kelso over.

This means that visitation to Whiddon Kelso is now permitted in all areas of the care home. Residents may have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children aged under 12 years per day.

Visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry to Whiddon Kelso at this time, and are strongly encouraged to have a booster vaccine if they are eligible for one.

When visiting please ensure that you:

• wear an N95 mask and face shield at all times, which will be supplied to you
• pre-book your visit
• stay vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene
• do not meet in any common areas 
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are:
  – fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and you have received a negative rapid antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW.

We thank you for your understanding and ongoing support through this challenging time. We look forward to seeing you soon.

11 April 2022

If you wish to visit your loved one over the Easter long weekend, please be reminded that all visits must be pre-booked.

Visitors are permitted to Whiddon Mudgee Pioneer at this time, however, please note that visits to D-Wing are limited to one visitor per resident. That is, each resident may nominate one consistent visitor (a partner in care) that may continue to visit for the duration of the lockdown on compassionate grounds only for now.

Visitors to D Wings will be required to wear full PPE when visiting. For all other areas, visitors are required to wear a N95 mask and eye protection such as a face shield.

Resident outings are permitted, except for residents in the D-Wing at this time.

We do ask for your patience when visiting. Due to increased screening procedures, and our team attending to residents, there may be delays when you visit. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support at this time.

8 April 2022

Following our previous update, we have had additional residents in the Gosford Wing test positive to COVID-19. After testing of all residents in John Read House today, pleasingly no additional residents outside of the Gosford Wing have tested positive. Please be assured that if your loved one tests positive to COVID-19, you would have been notified directly.

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

As a precaution, visits to the Gosford Wing are limited to one visitor per resident. That is, each resident may nominate one consistent visitor that may continue to visit for the duration of the lockdown on compassionate grounds only for now. Visitors to the Gosford Wing will be required to wear full PPE when visiting.

We have had several employees in Keppel House test positive to COVID-19. As a precaution, all employees and visitors are required to undertake rapid antigen testing when they arrive at Whiddon Redhead and will be asked to wear an N95 and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home.

We ask that you please remain vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene when visiting. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell and do not meet in common areas. All visits must be must be pre-booked.

We thank you for your understanding and support at this time.

8 April 2022

We have had additional residents and employees at Whiddon Wingham test positive to COVID-19. We are continuing to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and are following their advice. We have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

All residents may have one visitor at this time. That is, each resident may nominate one consistent visitor that may continue to visit for the duration of the lockdown. Visitors must complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 face mask and shield. Full PPE may be required in some areas. 

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. Our teams are working hard to keep residents connected to their loved ones as we know how important this is.

We thank you for your support and understanding.