Author: despinao

13 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, pleasingly, the local Public Health Unit have advised that the outbreak at Whiddon Narrabri – Robert Young is over, and we can once again welcome back visitors from Tuesday. Our final PCR swabs came back negative. While we’re pleased with this information, we do have 4x employees still isolating with COVID-19. A big thank you for the fantastic job you’ve each done in dealing with the outbreak and keeping our residents safe. We appreciate your support during this time.

We ask that you keep the following in mind:

• Continue to wear your N95 masks and face shields, and follow the green PPE signage guidelines
• Rapid Antigen Testing will continue to be required every day
• Meals, tea breaks and handovers will continue in the wing you are located. Reminder that breaks are to be staggered and socially distanced where possible
• Kitchen access remains restricted to kitchen staff only. Our care team will provide meals to residents in their dining halls
• Residents will remain in their respective wings
• Visits will recommence from Tuesday and outings are discouraged. Please refer to the Registered Nurse on duty if a resident requests to go out

As we prepare to welcome visitors back into our care home, please see our guidelines for visiting at this time:

• Visitations will be limited between 10am to 2pm and these must be pre-booked
• Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitor 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 may also be given a face shield when visiting
• Visitors will be asked to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry. Please ensure you arrive 15 minutes before your booking time
• 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
• We do encourage any external visits to be discouraged for now. However, a risk assessment will be undertaken if this has been discussed with your loved one’s Care Manager. Please note, if a resident does leave our care home for the day, screening will occur upon return with Rapid Antigen Testing and isolation required

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

13 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, pleasingly, the local Public Health Unit have advised that the outbreak at Whiddon Narrabri – Robert Young is over, and we can once again welcome back visitors from Tuesday. Our final PCR swabs came back negative. While we’re pleased with this information, we do have 4x employees still isolating with COVID-19. Our team have done a fantastic job in dealing with the outbreak, and we appreciate your support during this time.

As we prepare to welcome visitors back into our care home, please see our guidelines for visiting at this time:

• Visitations will be limited between 10am to 2pm and these must be pre-booked
• Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitor 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 may also be given a face shield when visiting
• Visitors will be asked to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry. Please ensure you arrive 15 minutes before your booking time
• 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
• We do encourage any external visits to be discouraged for now. However, a risk assessment will be undertaken if this has been discussed with your loved one’s Care Manager. Please note, if a resident does leave our care home for the day, screening will occur upon return with Rapid Antigen Testing requirements and isolation may be required

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.

13 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, pleasingly, the local Public Health Unit have advised that the outbreak at Whiddon Temora – Greenstone is over, and we can once again welcome back visitors. We thank you all for the fantastic job you’ve done in dealing with the outbreak, and we appreciate your support during this time.

As we prepare to welcome visitors back into our care home, please note the following guidelines that we will be sharing with families across both our Temora homes:

• Visitations will be limited between 9am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. No weekend visits unless approved by management.
• Residents are permitted to have one fully vaccinated visitor 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. Please ensure you arrive 15 minutes before your booking time.
• 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.

13 January 2022

Further to our last update to you, pleasingly, the local Public Health Unit have advised that the outbreak at Whiddon Temora – Greenstone is over, and we can once again welcome back visitors. Our team have done a fantastic job in dealing with the outbreak, and we appreciate your support during this time.

As we prepare to welcome visitors back into our care home, please see our guidelines for visiting at this time that apply to both our homes in Temora:

• Visitations will be limited between 9am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. No weekend visits unless approved by management.
• Residents are permitted to have one fully vaccinated visitor 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. Please ensure you arrive 15 minutes before your booking time.
• 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.

13 January 2022

We have been informed that a resident at Whiddon Maclean has tested positive to COVID-19 after taking a Rapid Antigen Test. We will also be conducting a PCR test to confirm this result. We have also had an employee return a positive Rapid Antigen Test however the risk to the service is deemed low.

Employees are wearing full PPE and we have closed our care home at Whiddon Maclean to visitors for now and visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life or if the visitor is an essential carer. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

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 robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

Those considered contacts of the resident who tested positive, will be contacted directly. 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.

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.

13 January 2022

We have been informed that a resident at Whiddon Maclean has tested positive to COVID-19 after taking a Rapid Antigen Test. We will also be conducting a PCR test to confirm this result. We have also had an employee return a positive Rapid Antigen Test however the risk to the service is deemed low.

Employees are wearing full PPE and we have closed our care home at Whiddon Maclean to visitors for now and visitors are only permitted to visit a resident who is at the end of life or if the visitor is an essential carer. Please speak to your loved one’s Care Manager directly to gain the necessary approval to visit.

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 robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus across our care homes.

Those considered contacts of the resident who tested positive, will be contacted directly. 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.

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.

8 January 2022

Further to our update that was sent out this week, we are pleased to advise that the two residents who had tested positive, have now had medical clearance and are no longer being treated as ‘positive’ cases. In addition, two employees who had also tested positive have also been medically cleared and will be returning to work. We have a total of 6 staff still positive to COVID-19 and are doing well.

Our third round of PCR swabs will be taken tomorrow, and we hope to provide an update as soon as we receive these results.

We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and continue to follow their advice while also implementing our COVID-19 response plan and Outbreak Management Plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented. Our employees also continue to be diligent with their PPE and follow our protocils.

Thank you for your support as we continue to work through this challenging time.

8 January 2022

Further to our update that was sent out this week, we are pleased to advise that the two residents who had tested positive, have now had medical clearance and are no longer being treated as ‘positive’ cases. In addition, two employees who had also tested positive have also been medically cleared and will be returning to work. We have a total of 6 staff still positive to COVID-19 and are doing well.

Our third round of PCR swabs will be taken tomorrow, and we hope to provide an update as soon as we receive these results.

As a reminder, please continue to be diligent with your PPE and our COVID-19 protocols during this time.

We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit and continue to follow their advice while also implementing our COVID-19 response plan and Outbreak Management Plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

Thank you to everyone who is continuing to work through this challenging time.

7 January 2022

We have been informed that two employees at Whiddon Kelso have tested positive to COVID-19. Employees are wearing full PPE, and we have closed Whiddon Kelso to visitors for now as a precaution. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged to not leave the care home for now, again as a precaution.

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 robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care homes.

Those considered contacts of the employees who tested positive, will be contacted directly. 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.

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

We thank you for your understanding and support.

7 January 2021

We have been informed that two employees at Whiddon Kelso have tested positive to COVID-19. Employees will be required to wear full PPE, and we have closed Whiddon Kelso to visitors for now as a precaution. Only visits for essential caring or on compassionate grounds will be permitted, and residents are strongly encouraged to not leave the care home for now, again as a precaution.

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 robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care homes.

Those considered contacts of the employees who tested positive, will be contacted directly. 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.

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

We thank you for your understanding and support.