5 July 2021
COVID-19 vaccination mandate for residential aged care workers
We wanted to provide an update about the Government’s recent decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for residential aged care employees. Whiddon fully supports the announcement, as protecting those in our care and the people caring for them is our highest priority.
From mid-September it will be a requirement for all aged care employees, including those at Whiddon, to have least had the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, we are encouraging our employees who have not yet had their vaccine, to have theirs sooner. For some months now, we have been actively encouraging our employees to have the vaccine by running internal campaigns.
We have also been advocating for in-reach workplace clinics to administer the vaccine onsite to employees. Currently, there is a wait list to have the Pfizer vaccine, so there is a delay due to the lack of access to this vaccine. In-reach clinics will help fast-track access to the vaccine. We have already started to secure some in-reach clinics, including at Easton Park, which will take place in the next few weeks.
The recent outbreak shows that COVID-19 remains a threat to our communities. We have been actively encouraging our employees to have the vaccine for some months now, however up until recently is was not mandated. While it is not mandatory for visitors, we are also encouraging visitors to our care homes to have the vaccine. It is one of the best lines of defence we have against the virus.
Single site arrangements (Easton Park and Hornsby only)
Given the COVID-19 situation in Sydney, workers at residential aged care facilities in impacted areas are asked to limit their work to a single facility to reduce the risk of transmission and protect workers and residents. This applies to Whiddon Hornsby and Whiddon Easton Park. We have been working with our staff to help ensure that they work with their primary employer only for now, as an additional measure to help keep everyone in our family safe.