News

Aged care providers that require Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must now email agedcarecovidppe@health.gov.au for all requests – please don’t approach Primary Health Networks.

All requests will be triaged by the Department of Health with priority given to facilities, programs and workers where there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Requests can be made by aged care services and any workers providing support to people receiving aged care support living in the community.

The following information must be provided in your email request:

• the facility, program or service requiring PPE
• if you have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 at your facility, program or service
• types and quantities of PPE required – please note, only masks are available at this stage and other PPE will be provided when available
• details of other suppliers you have attempted to source PPE stock from.

If your facility, program or service is experiencing an outbreak of influenza the above process applies.

The Department of Health will triage your request to determine priority and may be in contact with you for further information.

Once approved the request for supplies will be shared with the National Incident Room who will work with your State or Territory Government to distribute the supplies.

It is important to remember that if you do not have a confirmed case of COVID-19 within your facility, program or service you should expect delays in receiving your PPE due to the increase in demand.

Emails previously sent to the National Stockpile address do not need to be resent as they have been captured in this new, dedicated aged care process.

Read more:

New process for ordering PPE supplies for Aged Care Sector

The Department of Health has released the first module in a new eLearning program aimed specifically for Aged Care workers on appropriate health management techniques in all aged care settings.

Module 1: Personal Safety can be accessed here: https://covid-19training.gov.au/

On completion of this module, participants will be able to:

• describe how you can minimise the risk of developing COVID-19
• identify what to do if you develop symptoms of COVID-19
• demonstrate to others how to perform effective hand hygiene
• explain how to practise cough and sneeze etiquette.
• More modules will be released across the week and available here.

Read more:

COVID-19 Infection Control Training

New eLearning module for Aged Care workers now online

State governments across Australia are enacting various and at times, differing measures to control the spread of COVID-19. These requirements are being updated and upgraded frequently.

We have therefore decided to close our main office in Melbourne in preparation for what will most likely be an upcoming lockdown in the coming days/weeks.

Starting Monday 30th March 2020 all Management Advantage staff will be working remotely, where possible.

We will, therefore, be moving all support channels in the short-term (from 6:00 pm Friday 27th March) to ’email only’ via support@manad.com.au. Our landline of 1300 62 62 32 will no longer be monitored from Monday so please inform your staff of this. Our existing email support ticket system will continue to operate as usual as this can be accessed remotely by our support team.

We encourage all our clients to send all emails to support@manad.com.au, clearly outline what your request/issue/question(s) etc. is and include your email signature in ‘all’ replies, so we have quick and easy access to your key contact numbers.

We will then triage your email to the correct person in our team to assist and best support you in these difficult times. If we require further details, then we may request this via email or we will call you and may use TeamViewer so we can connect live to your PC and step through what you want to do as we currently do now.

Please note there may be some teething issues as we get all the ‘tech’ right for each staff member, but we hope this will be as seamless for you as possible. We appreciate our clients (and all aged care organisations) are under an immense amount of pressure and stress, and we are here to help and make your life as easy as possible. If we can be of any assistance or you are unsure how to use any features within Manad Plus, then please reach out for help.

NOTE:

To ensure our Help Desk team can best support your staff when they are contacting us, please remember when emailing it makes it much easier to reply quickly and accurately when a screenshot is attached. This allows us to see where you are within Manad Plus and better understand what you are viewing.

If you are unsure how you can take a screenshot of what is on your screen, then you can generally do this via the PrtScn (Print Screen) key on your keyboard and then paste this into your email. There are also a variety of tools for screen captures where you can also add mark-ups, such as the ‘Snipping Tool’ built into most Windows PCs or the newer ‘Snip & Sketch’ application.

You may need to speak to your IT Administrator if you are unable to use these tools or if they are not installed.

See: Snip & Sketch

In this issue:

• New process for ordering PPE supplies for Aged Care Sector
• New eLearning module for Aged Care workers now online
• Advice on visit guidelines
• Mental health resources

Read more:

Protecting Older Australians: COVID-19 update

Dear Aged Care Workers,

Australia’s aged care sector is facing an unprecedented emergency.

The spread of COVID-19 impacts everybody, but particularly Senior Australians. It is vital we support those working in aged care to keep Senior Australians across every community healthy and supported during this difficult time. Thank you for everything you are doing. You are doing an exceptional job in challenging circumstances.

Retention Bonus for Workers

On Friday, the Australian Government announced $444.6 million in additional support to help the sector stay strong, including a retention bonus for aged care workers.

As part of this announcement:

• Full-time direct care workers in residential care facilities will receive a payment of up to $800 after tax per quarter, paid for two quarters.
• Full-time home care workers will receive payments of up to $600 after tax per quarter, paid for two quarters.
• Part-time direct care workers receive a pro-rata payment for the amount of time you work. For example, if you work two days a week, you’ll receive 40 per cent of the payment.
• Payments will be made via your employer with the first payment expected in June (for the preceding quarter). The second payment will be paid in September.

Read more:

Letter to aged care workers from Senator, the Hon. Richard Colbeck, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians (.pdf)

The deadline for submissions to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety will be extended by two months to 30 June 2020.

Last week the Commissioners suspended all hearings, workshops and group consultations of the Royal Commission for the time being, subject to ongoing review.

The Commissioners recognise that meaningful engagement with the aged care sector during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is not possible and have therefore allowed more time for their involvement in the inquiry.

Read more:

Deadline for aged care submissions extended to 30 June 2020

Advice for CHSP Social Support Group providers

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, there are new restrictions on non-essential gatherings and visits to vulnerable groups. From 23 March 2020, all non-essential gatherings are suspended for four weeks.

If you provide Social Support Groups and group activities, you should suspend them for four weeks. You can continue to support clients by re-directing their funds to other non-face-to-face activities and support services.

Please communicate any change to clients and their carers and families as soon as possible.

Flexibility provisions

CHSP service providers now have complete flexibility to re-allocate up to 100 per cent of their funding between their funded service types in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Providers may only use flexibility provisions to transfer funding between already funded services.

Read more:

Further arrangements for CHSP providers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Australian governments are working together to slow the spread of coronavirus to save lives.

Every extra bit of time allows us to better prepare our health system and put measures in place to protect Australian lives.

We will be living with this virus for at least six months, so social distancing measures to slow this virus down must be sustainable for at least that long to protect Australian lives, allow Australia to keep functioning and keep Australians in jobs.

The Prime Minister, state and territory Premiers and Chief Ministers met on 24 March 2020 as the National Cabinet.

We are leading the world on testing with more than 161,000 Australians tested and around 2,000 Australians confirmed cases. In contrast to many countries, the majority of Australian cases of coronavirus have been from people returning overseas or direct contacts with people who had been overseas.

However, National Cabinet noted that there has been a significant growth in the number of cases in Australia, with a significant number of Australians returning from overseas and small community outbreaks associated with returned travellers.

National Cabinet reiterated that practicing good hygiene and keeping a healthy physical distance between individuals is our most powerful weapon in fighting this virus and saving lives.

The highest priority should be placed on social isolation measures as well as strict and rapid contact tracing of individuals. It is paramount that contact tracing occur quickly and thoroughly and that public data is available to support this effort.

Leaders again call on all Australian to do their bit to save the lives of other Australians.

Read more:

UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS MEASURES

24 Mar 2020 – PRESS CONFERENCE – AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT HOUSE – TRANSCRIPT

25 Mar 2020 – PRESS CONFERENCE – AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT HOUSE, ACT – TRANSCRIPT

25 Mar 2020 – NATIONAL COVID-19 COORDINATION COMMISSION – MEDIA RELEASE

Please take note of the below clarification on applying the new guidelines on visitor access.

The guidelines include:

• Limiting visits to a short duration.
• Limiting visits to a maximum of two visitors at one time per day. These may be immediate social supports (family members, close friends) or professional service or advocacy.
• Visits should be conducted in a resident’s room, outdoors, or in a specific area designated by the RACF, rather than communal areas where the risk of transmission to residents is greater.
• No large group visits or gatherings, including social activities or entertainment, should be permitted at this time.

No school groups of any size should be allowed to visit RACFs. Visitors should also be encouraged to practice social distancing practices where possible, including maintaining a distance of 1.5 metres.

Children aged 16 years or less must be permitted to visit only by exception, as they are generally unable to comply with hygiene measures. Exemptions can be assessed on a case-by-case basis, for example, where the resident is in palliative care.

In regards to the ‘professional service’ cohort the Department has been receiving some feedback that some clinical care professionals are being prevented from entering some facilities. The guidelines were designed specifically to allow ‘professional services’ – this includes GPs, Pharmacists, clinical care teams, DBMAS, SBRT, etc.

Read more:

Recommendations to Residential Aged Care Facilities

Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines for outbreaks in residential care facilities (.pdf)

Advice on visit guidelines

Latest links to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information from the Department of Health.

Read more:

Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) coronavirus (COVID-19) statement on 21 March 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for workers in residential aged care facilities (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for families and residents on restricted visits to residential aged care facilities (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for older Australians (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for public gatherings and visits to vulnerable groups

Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines for outbreaks in residential care facilities (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – frequently asked questions (.pdf)

Information for health care and residential care workers Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for residents of residential care services, family members and visitors (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – what you need to know (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) isolation guidance (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Information on social distancing (.pdf)

Resources for health professionals, including pathology providers and healthcare managers