How Satisfied Are You?
* 28 May 2020 *
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting precautionary lockdown at Vasey RSL Care generated an extraordinary set of circumstances for us all.
To understand this from the perspective of our residents and to get the views of our residents’ loved ones, we asked people to respond to a short survey.
We received over 160 responses from residents and more than 250 from residents’ representatives.
Residents’ Responses
“Across Australia, aged care organisations had to make difficult decisions about how to protect their communities from COVID-19,” said Janna Voloshin, CEO. “Our decision was to go into a preventative lockdown in order to minimise the number of people coming into our aged care homes.”
The survey indicated that 97%* of our residents agreed with the stringent visitor restrictions and 2% were unsure or neutral. Just 1% disagreed.
We found that 98% were satisfied with the communications received from our organisation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and 2% were not satisfied.
97% of respondents (3% unsure/neutral) felt that their facility and staff were doing everything they could to keep them safe from the virus, while 92% were confident in the ability of their facility to manage a COVID-19 outbreak (8% unsure/neutral).
Alternatives for continuing to connect with families included Window visits, Zoom visits, phone calls etc, and 94% of respondents were satisfied with these alternatives, with just 1% disagreeing and the remainder unsure/neutral.
Lastly, 100% of respondents felt that they continued to receive safe, quality care during the visitor restrictions.
“This has been a tough time for residents so we are very pleased to see these levels of satisfaction,” said Janna. “Our residents have shown patience and understanding throughout this time and many have expressed their feelings of safety and their support of our actions.”
Staff have stepped up during this time: “It is important to be aware that our staff have stepped in to fill some of the gaps left in the lives of residents unable to see family members, and the emotional support they have provided has been immensely important.”
Representatives’ Responses
Family members have found it very tough to be separated from their loved ones for this length of time and we have seen this across Australia. This was exacerbated by the lack of uniformity for visiting restrictions among aged care providers, differences between federal and state directives and confusion caused by statements made by some of our government representatives.
Despite these difficulties, 80%* of respondents agreed with the stringent visitor restrictions during precautionary lockdown and a further 10% were unsure/neutral, with only 10% disagreeing with the stance taken.
“We are very thankful to have such an understanding community,” said Janna. “Our residents are in the most vulnerable group and it is clear that most people appreciate this and accepted that the measures taken were for the protection of the whole community.”
The results indicated that 90% of respondents were satisfied with the communications received about the COVID-19 measures and 4% were unsure/neutral and 6% dissatisfied.
Results showed 88% of respondents felt that the facility and staff were doing all they could to keep residents safe from the virus, with 11% unsure/neutral and just 1% disagreeing. Concerns were around staff, including the possibility of them introducing the virus to the facility and staff working across more than one unit. Similarly, 88% felt confident in the facility’s ability to manage an outbreak, with 10% unsure/neutral and 2% not confident, expressing a range of concerns regarding the vulnerability of older people.
88% of respondents were confident their loved one continued to receive safe, quality care during the visitor restrictions, with 10% unsure/neutral and 2% expressing doubt, feeling unsure because they were unable to visit.
In terms of the alternative arrangements to in-person visits, 80% of respondents were satisfied while 10% were unsure/neutral and 10% were not satisfied. This question showed the biggest difference between the responses from residents and their representatives, with family members showing greater levels of concern about the arrangements than residents. The main concerns mentioned were difficulties with using unfamiliar technology and disabilities (hearing and sight) impacting on the quality of the experience.
During this time, there have been frequent changes to the pandemic situation and numerous directives and legislative changes impacting our organisation: each change requires top-level decisions, updated policies and procedures, and communication to all involved. The temporary loss of our volunteer community, the added workload for staff (eg organising window visits and zoom calls), and the administrative requirements have all put a strain on staff.
“It is very reassuring to read that the majority of our residents’ representatives were satisfied with our actions,” said Janna. “I know that family members want the very best for their loved one. We all do. I believe the concerns raised are all valid concerns: there are always opportunities to improve and the information gathered through this survey will feed into our quality systems so that this situation enables us to continually improve.”
Thank you to all who responded to the survey.
* Industry bodies ACSA and LASA ran polls showing that across the sector, 82% of aged care residents agreed with strict visitor restrictions and 69% of family members supported them.