* 16 September 2020 *
The last three months have been extremely difficult for our entire community. The majority of those we are here for, whether in home care, ex-service accommodation or residential aged care, are over 70, the most vulnerable group. In aged care, many of our residents are highly vulnerable, but they have been a great example to us. They have been stoic and good humoured: at times they have been sad or frustrated, but given the difficulties they have put up with, we have been humbled by the way they have taken this ongoing battle in their stride.
Our staff have been committed, dedicated and loyal. We are extremely thankful to have the workforce we have: they have risen to the challenge. On Aged Care Employee Day recently, we received scores of messages of appreciation for all that our staff are doing, and these were shared with staff. Thank you to all those who took the time to write – your support through all this has been incredibly important.
We have now had three ‘outbreaks’. An outbreak is defined as one staff member or one resident with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19. In each of these cases, there has been one staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19.
This is a very stressful situation for all concerned, with residents confined to their rooms and care staff wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE), which requires changing after every contact with each resident.
The first few days are the hardest: any staff who have been in contact with the staff member affected must go into quarantine, and this results in reduced staff available. While ‘surge staffing’ is made available through the authorities, it takes a few days to arrive, and in these few days, it is ‘all hands on deck’.
Our staff have been outstanding. They have filled in with extra shifts, stayed late and come early, so that our residents are properly looked after at all times. I also want to acknowledge our managers and support staff who have backfilled tasks for the people on the ground, and done everything they can to support our efforts to protect our vulnerable community.
We have seen our whole community come together during this time and we have received support from individuals and organisations for which we are very grateful. One of these has been Ironside Recruitment, a specialist organisation that matches employers with ex-service men and women seeking employment.
CEO, Glen Ferrarotto, has assisted us in providing veterans to support our residential aged care sites during our outbreaks. This is a time when staff are kept extremely busy with the rigorous lockdown requirements, and at the same time, residents are confined to their rooms and it can be very hard on them.
Our veteran support assistants have been a wonderful support to everyone during these tough times.
Our strategy is to take an ‘abundance of caution’ and this has been hard on our aged care residents and their families.
This is the only sensible approach: every extra person on site is a potential danger to our community. While staff are essential, we can limit all others. This has not been universally supported by families, so for those who have supported it, I thank you sincerely. For those who have not, we are sorry that you feel that way.
However, we stand by our approach and will continue to do what we believe is right to protect our whole community.
Janna Voloshin
Chief Executive Officer
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