Year: 2022

31 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, two additional employees at Whiddon Grafton have tested positive to COVID-19. While this is considered low risk to residents due to the personal protective equipment our employees have been using, visitation is still limited at this time. Pleasingly, residents are well and are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19.

Visits for essential caring on compassionate grounds such as end of life are permitted at this time, with approval. Please discuss this with the Director Care Services.

Any decision to isolate or de-isolate is made in close contact with the local Public Health Unit. As such, we are awaiting on further advice as to when we may be able to welcome visitors back.

If you would like to book a window visit in, or arrange a phone or video call with your loved one, please contact our team.

We understand that this is a difficult time but we want to reassure you that we are doing everything possible to keep our residents safe, well and connected with loves ones at this time.

We thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.

31 January 2022

Dear team,

As you are aware, the Federal Government is likely to mandate that all aged care employees must have the COVID-19 Booster Vaccine. As such, we are having a booster clinic here on site on Monday 7 February between 10.00am and 2.00pm. Currently there are limited spaces, so please book you appointment by following the below link.

URL: https://portal.companymedicalservices.com.au/onsiteregistration/whiddon

Referral code: whid123

Thank you

31 January 2022

Following our last update and COVID-19 testing of Whiddon Beaudesert Star residents late last week, we are pleased to say that we have not had any additional residents test positive to COVID-19. This means that we have contained the outbreak to one area only (Rainbow Upper). However, we are required to undertake Day 6 testing, which will take place this Wednesday. Pending these results, we hope to be in the position to reopen to visitors.

We have had an additional three employees test positive to COVID-19 and they are currently in isolation.

Please note that visits for essential caring on compassionate grounds such as end of life are permitted at this time, with approval. Please discuss this with the Director Care Services.

We understand that this is a challenging time. 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 also know how important it is that we do everything we can to help keep you connected to your loved one at this time. If you would like to book a video or phone call with your loved one, please contact our team on 07 5542 4700. Our teams are also working hard to provide additional activities for residents at this time.

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

31 January 2021

An employee at Whiddon Moree has tested positive to COVID-19 using a rapid antigen test. As a precaution, the local Public Health Unit have advised us to limit visits to Whiddon Moree families until we get the results of COVID-19 testing that will be undertaken by residents and employees. Visitations will be restricted temporarily to essential care and end of life visits.

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.

Thank you for your understanding and patience at this time.

28 January 2022

We are deeply saddened that a resident at Whiddon Beaudesert Star who had tested positive to COVID-19 has passed away. The resident had serious underlying health conditions. We extend our sincerest condolences to their family at this difficult time.

In regards to the testing undertaken yesterday of all residents at the advice of the local Public Health Unit, we have so far received the test results for residents in the Clayfied, Violet and Fern wings. Pleasingly, all residents in these areas have tested negative to COVID-19. The test results for other areas are still pending. We will provide a further update to you early next week or sooner if we get the tests results back on the weekend.

We thank you for your support at this time.

28 January 2022

Keppel House update

Merewether East (upstairs)

Since our last update to you, a further two residents in Merewether East have tested positive to COVID-19 via rapid antigen testing. We are now awaiting their PCR tests results. Please note that the families of these residents have been notified.

Further testing of residents in Merewether East will take place on Monday and Thursday next week and the local Public Health Unit (PHU) has advised that residents in this area are required to stay in their rooms for now. Following testing on Thursday, the local PHU will provide us with further advice on whether residents may be able to leave their rooms and when visitors may be permitted to this area. If you would like to book a video or phone call with your loved one, please contact our team,

Merewether West (upstairs) and Dudley (all downstairs)

On the advice of the local Public Health Unit, we conducted rapid antigen testing of residents in Merewether West and Dudley. Pleasingly, all tests returned negative results. In welcome news, this means that as of tomorrow, residents will be able to leave their rooms.

In addition, visits to these areas will be allowed from Monday 31 January, however they must be pre-booked. Visiting times will be between 9am and 12pm and 1pm and 4pm on weekdays, with five visitors per hour. Please note that the number of visitors allowed at any one time is restricted to enable management of capacity limits.

While this is very welcome news, we do ask that you follow our visitation guidelines and remain vigilant at this time. With increasing numbers of COVID-19 in our local communities, it is important that we all take steps to help keep everyone safe. Please also note that we are encouraging visitors to get their booster vaccine if they are eligible to do so.

John Read House update

John Read House remains open to visitors, however please note that bookings are required. As a reminder, visits can be booked between 9am and 12pm and 1pm and 4pm on weekdays. Please note that the number of visitors allowed at any one time is restricted to enable management of capacity limits.

Visiting guidelines at this time (applies to John Read House, Dudley wings and Mereweather West wing only)

The following guidelines are in place:

• Residents may have two visitors per day
• All visitors must wear PPE, including an N95 mask and a face shield, which will be provided to visitors
• Only visitors over 12 years old are permitted and all visitors 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 wherever possible, visits should occur in an outdoor area
• Visitors will 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 visit

Please ensure that you:

• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms
• refrain from visiting if you are a close or casual contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19, unless they have completed their isolation and testing requirements. Close contacts should not enter high risk settings for at least 14 days since their exposure to a COVID-positive person
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are fully vaccinated and have received a negative PCR test 7 days or later after arrival in NSW
• 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 ongoing support and understanding.

 

Please watch the short video below presented by our CEO Chris and Deputy CEO Alyson. Once you have done this, you will need to click on the link that appears below the video to read a memo with further information on this.

You can download the memo of this announcement here

28 January 2022

Since our last update, four residents in the Cedar Wing on the ground floor of Whiddon Casino have tested positive to COVID-19 via rapid antigen testing. They are required to isolate and their families have been informed.

Residents on the first floor of Whiddon Casino (Lindwall Wing) are not showing any symptoms of the virus. We are still waiting for advice from the local Public Health Unit as to when residents on this level may be able to leave their rooms. Please note that we will need to ask these residents not to access the ground floor for now as a precaution.

For now, visits can be booked on compassionate grounds or for essential caring. If you wish to request a visit under such grounds, please contact the Director Care Services.

We have had one further employee test positive to COVID-19. This was acquired in the community and is considered low risk to residents.

We do understand that this is a challenging time. Our teams are working hard to keep you connected with your loved ones at this time. If you would like to book in a video or phone call, please talk to our administration team on 02 6661 2300 to book this in.

We will provide a further update to you early next week.

28 January 2022

We are very pleased to advise you that we are now in the position to welcome back visitors to Whiddon Maclean.

While this is very welcome news, we do ask that you follow our visitation guidelines and remain vigilant at this time. With increasing numbers of COVID-19 in our local communities, it is important that we all take steps to help keep everyone safe. Please also note that we are encouraging visitors to get their booster vaccine if they are eligible to do so.

Visits must be pre-booked through our administration team. We also ask visitors to wear an N95 mask and shield at this time as a precautionary measure.

Please see our guidelines for visiting at this time:

• Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over only, per day
• Visitors 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 must take place in residents’ rooms
• All visitors must wear a N95 mask and face shield when 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 visit

Please ensure that you:

• pre-book your visits. Please note that the number of visitors allowed 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 if you are a close or casual contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19, unless they have completed their isolation and testing requirements. Close contacts should not enter high risk settings for at least 14 days since their exposure to a COVID-positive person
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are fully vaccinated and have received a negative PCR test 7 days or later after arrival in NSW
• 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 continued understanding and support and we look forward to seeing you soon.

28 January 2022

It has been great to welcome you back to Whiddon Kelso. We wanted to remind you of the visiting hours at this time and the requirement to pre-book visits. Visits must be pre-booked and for now, may take place between 8am and 5pm on weekdays. We hope to open up to weekend visits once we have staff available to supervise the rapid antigen testing.

We also invite you to update your contact details with our team. You can so this by emailing your current phone number and preferred email address to kelso@whiddon.com.au This would be greatly appreciated and will help to ensure that clear communication to all families is maintained.

Please note that we are also encouraging our visitors to get their booster vaccine if they are eligible to do so.

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