Author: despinao

13 August 2021

We are pleased to let you know that we are introducing rapid antigen testing at Whiddon Redhead, Whiddon Belmont and Whiddon Largs from Monday, 16 August.  We trialled this at Whiddon Easton Park and Whiddon Hornsby over last month with the team there, as South-west Sydney is in an area that continues to see high levels of community transmission. We are now pleased to be able to offer this across more of our care homes, to provide an extra layer of protection as community transmission remains high.

The test is not compulsory, however we strongly encourage you to participate as it’s so important that we are doing everything we can to make sure that no one is unwillingly bringing the virus into our home.

The rapid antigen tests we will be using are not as invasive as the PCR tests that you may have already had at one of the NSW testing clinics, although it does require a nasal swab. Up-take of the tests were high at Easton Park and Hornsby and feedback overwhelmingly indicated that rapid antigen testing gave confidence that employees and residents weren’t at risk.

The results of the rapid test are delivered in just ten minutes. We will be offering this while community transmission is high and while we can access the testing kits. We will then assess the position following this and decide how to proceed from there.

Thank you so much for everything that you are doing. We can’t do it with you and we want you to know we are genuinely working very hard behind the scenes to do the very best we can to support you.

13 August 2021

We are pleased to let you know that we will be introducing rapid COVID-19 testing for employees at Whiddon Redhead from Monday, 16 August to further protect residents and employees during the evolving COVID-19 situation in the Hunter region. Please note, despite the introduction of Rapid Antigen Testing, visiting restrictions will remain in place as per NSW Health orders.

Rapid antigen tests are taken on-the-spot and deliver a positive or negative result in just ten minutes. They are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and under supervision of a registered nurse, employees have been trained to administer the tests themselves and should a positive result be detected, the employee must then take a standard diagnostic test in line with Government advice.

Employees are encouraged to have the test when they come on shift. Research has shown that the frequency of the testing is the most important factor in controlling the spread of infection. Employees will be encouraged to test every day to begin with and then every other day following that, while community transmission remains high.

We are proud to bring this initiative to Whiddon as it adds a very important layer of increased protection for residents and employees against COVID-19, while community transmission rates are high. We have been offering this at Whiddon Easton Park and Whiddon Hornsby for several weeks now as a trial, and are pleased to see this added layer of protection now offered at Whiddon Redhead.

13 August 2021

We are pleased to let you know that we will be introducing rapid COVID-19 testing for employees at Whiddon Belmont from Monday, 16 August to further protect residents and employees during the evolving COVID-19 situation in the Hunter region. Please note, despite the introduction of Rapid Antigen Testing, visiting restrictions will remain in place as per NSW Health orders.

Rapid antigen tests are taken on-the-spot and deliver a positive or negative result in just ten minutes. They are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and under supervision of a registered nurse, employees have been trained to administer the tests themselves and should a positive result be detected, the employee must then take a standard diagnostic test in line with Government advice.

Employees are encouraged to have the test when they come on shift. Research has shown that the frequency of the testing is the most important factor in controlling the spread of infection. Employees will be encouraged to test every day to begin with and then every other day following that, while community transmission remains high.

We are proud to bring this initiative to Whiddon as it adds a very important layer of increased protection for residents and employees against COVID-19, while community transmission rates are high. We have been offering this at Whiddon Easton Park and Whiddon Hornsby for several weeks now as a trial, and are pleased to see this added layer of protection now offered at Whiddon Belmont.

2 August 2021

As you may have heard, the current restrictions that were put in place in 11 South-east Queensland local government areas has been extended as a result of an increase of COVID-19 cases. This includes the Scenic Rim region, where Whiddon Beaudesert Star is located. This means that the lockdown for the wider community in these 11 LGAs has been extended until 4pm Sunday 8 August and we will not be permitted to accept any visitors to our care home for now, unless under exceptional circumstances and with approval from the Director of Care Services.

We will be assisting where we can to facilitate phone and video calls to help you keep in touch with your loved one. At this stage, we will be unable to offer window visits under these restrictions. We do understand this is a difficult time and will send a further update once we know more, or are in the position to relax the restrictions.

Thank you

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week!

First of all, I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all families for assisting us with the requirements to limit visitors to 2 per resident per day and keeping with the current guidelines of visiting your loved ones in their room to comply with the latest directions provided by NSW Health.

I’m excited to share that we have had three new Registered Nurses join our team here at Whiddon Moree! Neha, Jiah and Princess have each settled into the team really well, and we’re glad to have them join our family. If you see them around, do say hello.

We have organised an event for NAIDOC week which will be held today, Friday the 9^th of July. We have also had our regular activities take place with our residents with the exception of church and our usual sing-a-long.

As normal, my door is always open and I do encourage you to reach out if you wish to discuss any matters relating to your loved one’s care.

Have a very safe weekend!

Thanks,
Martha Rowe
Director Care Services – Whiddon Moree

Hello everyone,

Wow, what a week! This week has been very interesting for our community with the recent Victorian travelers coming through our town.  I would like to thank all our wonderful families, friends and visitors for following our guidelines and wearing face masks when visiting our care home. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to:

• Our residents were involved in various activities such as bingo, skittles, sing-a-long
• We had happy hour on Thursday which is becoming an activity our residents really enjoy
• Team members from our Sydney Head Office were visiting over the last 10 days, assisting our care staff with training and documentation which is very much welcome
• There are two new Registered Nurses commencing on the 15^th of June. We’re very excited to welcome them to the Whiddon Moree family

We also have a BBQ lunch planned for employees, residents and families on the 16^th of June at 12 noon.  One of our employees and two residents will be shaving their hair off in a bid to raise money for a beautiful staff member who is currently battling cancer.  You are all welcome to attend the event.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks,
Martha Rowe
Director Care Services – Whiddon Moree

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week! Here’s what we’ve been up to here at Whiddon Moree:

• We celebrated the birthday of resident Phillip Tooth.
• We held a family meeting on the 19th of May which was very informative and productive. Thank you to everyone who attended
• We have secured a barber to come into our home. This will commence on Tuesday 25th of May
• We have also secured a beautician who will be commencing on Wednesday the 26th of May
• We have held numerous activities including craft, skittles, bowls and church services
• We will be holding a morning tea for Reconciliation Day on the 28th of May at 10.30am We’d love to invite you all along to attend. Please reach out if you can make it so we can let our catering team know.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks,
Martha Rowe
Director Care Services – Whiddon Moree

Hi there,

Below is important information on how to book your COVID vaccination at the Vaccination Hubs in Sydney. Please remember to provide proof of vaccination (both COVID & Fluvax) to your manager.

Please click on the image below:

18 May 2021

Visitor restrictions update

We’re pleased to share that NSW Health has advised the restrictions to visitors coming into residential aged care homes within the Greater Sydney area, including metropolitan Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong have been removed.

As a reminder to all visitors, please postpone your visits into any of our Whiddon care homes if you:

• have been to any close or casual contact locations in NSW or interstate places of high concern
• have COVID-19 symptoms – fever (37. 5°C or higher) or symptoms of COVID-19
• are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are within their self-isolation period
• live in a household with a person who is currently self-isolating
• are waiting for a COVID-19 test result

Please remember to make a booking before visiting and to ensure you check in by scanning the QR code available in reception areas. This is still mandatory for all visitors. 

11 May 2021

Please be advised that we have received advice that Whiddon Grafton residents who have chosen to have the COVID-19 vaccine will be given their first of dose of the vaccine on Monday, 17 May.

We will be advising residents of this date. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Sandra Osborne, Director Care Services – Whiddon Grafton.