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Infection prevention and management

Vaccinations

As a health-promoting organisation, Southern Cross Care strongly encourages all staff, volunteers, clients and residents to keep their vaccination status up to date.

Full COVID-19 vaccination is required for residents of our Residential Care homes. New residents are required to be vaccinated prior to admission. For further details, please speak to our friendly team.

 

General Advice

There are a number of steps that we can all take to limit the spread of acute respiratory infections (including COVID-19 and Influenza) in our community and help protect vulnerable people.

  • cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue
  • wash your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitiser
  • clean and disinfect surfaces and frequently used objects such as mobiles, keys and wallets
  • avoid touching your face
  • keep a distance of 1.5 metres between yourself and other people whenever possible

 

Testing

To stop the spread of acute respiratory infections people with even mild symptoms should get tested and avoid contact with others while awaiting test results. For testing options, please speak with your GP clinic or visit the website of your state or territory health department.

Our services

Home

Now that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over, Southern Cross Care has developed a plan to guide our response to acute respiratory infections in our Home Care and Health & Wellness services.

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) include those caused by contagious respiratory viruses, including but not limited to COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

Our Acute Respiratory Infection Prevention and Management Plan is designed to help prevent, control and contain these viruses to help ensure the safety of our clients, staff and the community.

Under this new plan, our services will operate in three phases; Safeguarding, Prevention and Outbreak / Active Infection. Each of these phases has defined prevention and control measures with a number of common elements including the following;

  • Staff are educated in appropriate infection control practices
  • Staff routinely perform appropriate hand hygiene & maintain social distancing where possible
  • Staff are provided with all required personal protective equipment (PPE) and will wear masks only at the request or preference of our clients in the Safeguarding Phase
  • Staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and Influenza in line with Southern Cross Care procedures

Currently our Home Care services and Health & Wellness Centres are operating with Safeguarding measures. Our Community Respite Cottages, where we acknowledge there can be vulnerable clients gathering in groups for prolonged periods of time, remain in the Prevention Phase.

Key points for Home Care and Health & Wellness Clients:

  • COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations are strongly recommended for all clients
  • All clients should monitor themselves for respiratory virus symptoms and seek testing if needed
  • If symptoms occur, clients should notify Southern Cross Care and refrain from attending on-site services (e.g. Health & Wellness Centres or Community Respite cottages)
  • If you test positive for an ARI or are exposed to someone else who has, please notify Southern Cross Care as soon as possible

If you require any clarification about these new arrangements, please feel free to contact our team at (08) 8179 6825.

Our Retirement Living communities in SA, NT and Victoria continue to respond to the latest developments in the COVID-19 situation and follow health advice to help keep all residents and employees safe.

Southern Cross Care is taking a number of precautionary measures within our Retirement Living communities, including recommending mask-wearing, hand hygiene and social distancing protocols within our community centres.

For more information, please speak with your local Retirement Living Manager or call 1800 852 772.

 

Our Residential Care homes across South Australia and the Northern Territory continue to operate under our 3-Phase Plans for Safeguarding, Prevention and Outbreak Management of Acute Respiratory Infections.

Our local teams communicate directly with the family members/representatives of residents who test positive for acute respiratory infections, and their health status and care plans are closely monitored by health professionals. 

Below is a summary of the visitation plans for each of the three phases.

 

Phase 1 - Safeguarding

  • Social visits may be conducted in residents' rooms, our on-site cafes or in our gardens at any time Monday to Friday, or from 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm on Saturday and Sunday;
  • All visitors must undertake entry screening including symptom and exposure checks;
  • Visitors are encouraged to undertake a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), with a negative result, at least once every 72 hours before visiting and wear a surgical face mask during visits.

 

Phase 2 - Prevention

  • Social visits may be conducted in residents' rooms, our on-site cafes or in our gardens at any time Monday to Friday, or from 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm on Saturday and Sunday;
  • All visitors must undertake entry screening including symptom and exposure checks;
  • Visitors are strongly encouraged to undertake a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), with a negative result, at least once every 24 hours before visiting and wear a surgical face mask during visits.

 

Phase 3 - Outbreak Management

  • Only essential visitors are permitted, including;
    • Partners in care - People who assist our staff with daily resident care and support, with the consent of the resident or their representative.
    • Named visitors - If a person does not have a partner in care, they may nominate one named visitor who can visit between 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm Monday to Friday or 10am-12pm on Saturday.
    • End-of-life visitors - We will facilitate compassionate visits to residents who are approaching the end of their lives. These may be conducted in residents’ rooms 7 days a week.
  • All visitors must undertake entry screening including symptom and exposure checks with a staff member;
  • Visitors must undertake a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), with a negative result, and wear a N95 mask during visits;
  • Every visit under this phase must be pre-approved by the Residential Services Manager via email. Click here for contact details.

 

Residential Care Home Status

Changes to the status of individual homes and wings will be communicated to residents and nominated family members directly as and when they occur. If you have a question about the current status of an individual home or wing, please contact the home directly. Click here for contact details.

 

Resident Outing Management Plan

Our Resident Outing Management Plan is designed to ensure that residents can enjoy outings while helping us to mitigate and manage the risks posed by acute respiratory infections. For a copy of the current plan, please click here.