Dear Edgarley community,

I write to provide an update on the current COVID-19 prevention measures in place at Edgarley. Please be assured that the safety of everyone at Edgarley is our paramount concern.

As you will be aware, there has been an alarming increase in COVID-19 numbers in metropolitan Melbourne after a brief period of relative calm. Unfortunately, numerous Aged Care facilities have been affected. Given this backdrop, along with a small number of cases in our region, I write to reiterate our current measures and highlight some additional protections as of today.

I, once again, ask you all to seriously consider the purpose of any visit and if at this point of time it could be facilitated by another means? We will continue to try and limit the number of people accessing the site. I also ask you to consider where you have personally travelled in the weeks before your visit and seriously consider if you may have been exposed to COVID -19.

Entry Screening:

We will continue to screen everyone who enters Edgarley. This includes staff, visitors and contractors. Anybody who has symptoms of respiratory illness or has signs of cold or flu such as a fever, cough, muscle ache or sore throat will not be permitted to enter.  We thank you all for your cooperation and patience in participating in this important process.

Face Masks:

Minister Hunt has today announced that all workers in Victorian Aged Care facilities will be required to wear masks. This instruction will be enacted and implemented as directed. Mandy Lee, Director of Nursing, will communicate with you all regarding the specifics of the implementation.

In line with the above announcement, we will now be requiring that all visitors to Edgarley wear a provided face mask. Please also see attached some information on the use of face masks.

Hand Hygiene:

We ask you to continue practising good hand hygiene. Please, use the hand sanitiser’s dispensers to hand-hub once you arrive at Edgarley’s front entrance, before entering and after leaving the resident’s room.

Influenza Vaccinations: 

Proof of having received the flu vax must also be provided before entry. The Federal Government have advised that people who have not been vaccinated for influenza are not permitted to enter aged care facilities.

Social Distancing:

Everybody needs to observe social distancing by staying 1.5 meters apart from others whilst at Edgarley. To that end, visits can only take place in private rooms or specified private outdoor areas, not in communal areas.  Once again, we ask that visiting times are kept to a minimum.

Visiting:

It is strongly recommended that each resident only receive one visit per day.  This visit can be by a group of no more than two people. Please keep your visit as brief as is practical. We suggest no more than 30 minutes. Our visiting hours are currently 2 pm – 4 pm, 7 days a week.

Importantly, however, please note that visitation will over the coming weeks be transferring to by prior appointment only.

Regular visitors, along with all residents and their representatives will be contacted directly to enable the facilitation of an individualised visitation plan. If you would like to discuss this change or have any queries in relation to your family member please contact us directly.

Please also bear in mind any items bought into the facility need to be sanitized and wiped before they can be transferred to a resident.

I once again thank you for your continued support during these challenging and constantly changing times. If you have any queries on any matter related to the above, please contact the senior nursing team or me directly.

 

Kind Regards,

David Knight

CEO

 

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Please view the latest ‘Residential aged care: restrictions on entry, contractors and visitors’ document from the DHHS by clicking here.