Author: Belinda Howell

12 January 2021

We wanted to give you an update regarding the current COVID-19 situation at Whiddon Easton Park.

As you are aware, there are a number of residents that have tested positive to COVID-19 at Easton Park. Since our last update we can confirm:-

Arthur Webb Court

No residents have tested positive to COVID-19. Residents are free to wander around the building. However should not mix with other floors in AWC.

Easton Park Units

Residents on Level 3 and in High Care on Level 1 remain isolated in their rooms. Once there are any changes in regards to this, we will update you ASAP.

Residents on Level 2 are free to move around on Level 2 only.

Staff should remain in full PPE at all times

Sir David Martin

Residents in T1 and LL1 remain isolated in their rooms. Once there are any changes in regards to this, we will update you ASAP.

Staff should remain in full PPE at all times

Taylor House

Taylor House residents are no longer required to isolate in their rooms, however they should not cross over into other areas.

Staff should remain in Full PPE at all times

Our next meeting with the local Public Health Unit is tomorrow and updates from this meeting will be shared with the homes by the DCS’s tomorrow.

I am hopeful that soon, more residents will no longer be confined to their rooms.

Staff must continue to conduct Rapid Antigen Tests prior to entry to each building. If a staff tests positive, they must not enter the building, rather they are to wait outside put on a N95 Mask while contacting their manager.

Staff must not remove rapid antigen tests from site for any reason.

We know that this is very hot and uncomfortable for all staff wearing PPE and we are incredibly grateful to all staff for working despite these conditions.

To make things a little more comfortable, if staff would prefer to wear a t-shirt and shorts under their PPE instead of uniform. If you do choose to wear something cooler, please ensure that shorts are knee length and that any t-shirts do not have offensive slogans on them.

12 January 2022

Following our last update to you on Friday 7 January, an additional employee at Whiddon Kelso has tested positive to COVID-19. Our COVID-19 outbreak management plan remains in place, to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Upon the advice of the local Public Health Unit, visitation is still restricted for now.

While the risk is considered low at Whiddon Kelso, only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds will be permitted on approval and residents are strongly encouraged to not leave the care home for now, as a precaution. We continue to work with the local Public Health Unit and follow their advice.

Employees must continue to wear full PPE (N95 masks, face shields, gown and gloves), complete a rapid antigen test, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station.

We ask that if you have any concerns to please speak to your manager in the first instance. Please also remember our confidential EAP service contactable 24/7 on 1800 818 728.

We encourage you to have your Booster shot and send evidence of your vaccination to payroll@whiddon.com.au at your earliest convenience. Eligibility for booster shots are for those that have had their second dose at least 4 months ago.

Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to Whiddon Kelso.

12 January 2022

Following our last update to you on Friday 7 January, pleasingly, no further employees at Whiddon Wingham have tested positive to COVID-19. Currently, we have not had any residents tests positive to the virus.

As mentioned in our last update, we have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. While potential exposure to residents is not considered high risk, we are restricting visitation to compassionate visits only for now, such as end of life. Residents are currently staying in their rooms as a precaution at this time and we are strongly encouraging residents not to leave the care home for now.

We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and follow their advice. We hope to be able to welcome visitors back soon. At this stage, we will likely be reviewing this next Monday and will provide a further update then.

We thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.

12 January 2022

Following our last update to you on Friday 7 January, an additional employee at Whiddon Kelso has tested positive to COVID-19. Our COVID-19 outbreak management plan remains in place, to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Upon the advice of the local Public Health Unit, visitation is still restricted for now.

While the risk is considered low at Whiddon Kelso, only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds will be permitted on approval and residents are strongly encouraged to not leave the care home for now, as a precaution. We continue to work with the local Public Health Unit and follow their advice.

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 help keep residents connected to their loved ones as we know how important this is.

We thank you for your understanding and support.

12 January 2022

Following our last update to you on Friday 7 January, pleasingly, there have not been any further residents at Whiddon Hornsby test positive to COVID-19.

All residents remain well and rapid antigen testing of residents undertaken on Monday 10 January all returned negative test results. While we have had a number of positive cases at Whiddon Hornsby that we have previously mentioned in our updates, this is considered low risk to the care home.

As the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 continues to escalate, on the advice of the local Public Health Unit, we are strongly discouraging residents from leaving our care home for external outings and appointments at this time. Visitation remains restricted at this time.

Please talk to our Administration or Lifestyle team if you would like us to arrange a Zoom call with your loved one. Our teams are working hard to keep you connected to our loved ones at this time as we know how important this is.

We are accepting delivery of care packages for residents, however, please note that these items will be quarantined for 72 hours as a precaution. Unfortunately, perishable, unpackaged foods are unable to be accepted.

Please be reassured that while our employees are experiencing additional pressure at this time, they remain committed to providing the very best of care to residents. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful team here at Whiddon Hornsby, and we do welcome any feedback that you may have for our team.

12 January 2022

Following our last update to you on Friday 7 January, we wanted to advise you that visitor restrictions at Whiddon Largs remain in place for now. As the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 continues to escalate, on the advice of the local Public Health Unit, we are strongly discouraging residents from leaving our care home for external outings and appointments at this time.

Please talk to our Administration or Lifestyle team if you would like us to arrange a Zoom call with your loved one. Our teams are working hard to keep you connected to our loved ones at this time as we know how important this is.

We are accepting delivery of care packages for residents, however, please note that these items will be quarantined for 72 hours as a precaution. Unfortunately, perishable, unpackaged foods are unable to be accepted.

Please be reassured that while our employees are experiencing additional pressure at this time, they remain committed to providing the very best of care to residents. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful team here at Whiddon Largs, and we do welcome any feedback that you may have for our wonderful team.

12 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, a resident at Whiddon Laurieton has returned a positive rapid antigen test result. A follow-up PCR test will now be undertaken.

Visitation to Whiddon Laurieton remains restricted at this time. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds such as end of life will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged not to leave the care home for now. We are also asking residents to stay in their rooms at this time, again as a precautionary measure.

Employees must wear N95 masks, face shields and gloves, and full PPE when attending to the COVID positive resident, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station.

We ask that if you have any concerns to please speak to your manager in the first instance. Please also remember our confidential EAP service contactable 24/7 on 1800 818 728.

We encourage you to have your Booster shot and send evidence of your vaccination to payroll@whiddon.com.au at your earliest convenience. Eligibility for booster shots are for those that have had their second dose at least 4 months ago.

Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to Whiddon Laurieton.

 

12 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, pleasingly, the local Public Health Unit have advised that Haven can once again welcome back visitors. All residents in Haven have returned negative rapid antigen test results.

For now, visitation to CHAPCA remains restricted. We have had one resident return a positive rapid antigen test result. A follow-up PCR test will now be undertaken. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds such as end of life will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged not to leave the care home for now.

Our employees are wearing full PPE and we are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice. Our COVID-19 outbreak management plan is in place to ensure all necessary safety measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care home.

Please see our guidelines for visiting Haven at this time:

• Residents are permitted to have one 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 wherever possible, visits should occur in an outdoor area
• All visitors must wear a N95 mask and face shield when visiting
• 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:

• 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 understanding an support at this time.

 

11 January 2022

A resident at Whiddon Beaudesert Star has returned a positive rapid antigen test result today. A follow-up PCR test will now be undertaken.

As a precaution, we have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all necessary safety measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care home.

This includes restricting visitation to Whiddon Beaudesert Star at this time. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds such as end of life will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged not to leave the care home for now. We are also asking residents to stay in their rooms at this time, again as a precautionary measure.

Employees must wear N95 masks, face shields and gloves, and full PPE when attending to the COVID positive resident, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station.

We ask that if you have any concerns to please speak to your manager in the first instance. Please also remember our confidential EAP service contactable 24/7 on 1800 818 728.

We encourage you to have your Booster shot and send evidence of your vaccination to payroll@whiddon.com.au at your earliest convenience. Eligibility for booster shots are for those that have had their second dose at least 4 months ago.

Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to Whiddon Beaudesert Star.

 

11 January 2022

A resident at Whiddon Beaudesert Star has returned a positive rapid antigen test result today. A follow-up PCR test will now be undertaken.

As a precaution, we have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all necessary safety measures are implemented. Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care home.

This includes restricting visitation to Whiddon Beaudesert Star at this time. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds such as end of life will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged not to leave the care home for now. We are also asking residents to stay in their rooms at this time, again as a precautionary measure.

Our employees are wearing full PPE and we will be working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice.

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 will also be working hard to help keep residents connected with their loved ones via phone and video calls wherever possible as we know how important this is.

We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more.