GUIDELINES FOR VISITING RESIDENTS AT KIRKBRAE RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE FACILITY
Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes Residential Aged Care Facility can now confirm that the COVID-19 Outbreak at the facility has been declared over.
On Sunday 27 September, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced changes to the restrictions to visiting residents of health care and aged care facilities.
The new restrictions on visitors to aged care facilities allow one (1) visitor per resident for up to two hours.
Premier Andrews also stated that facilities should determine how this change is implemented and some may choose to maintain stricter guidelines.
At Kirkbrae we are extremely conscious of the desire for visits to recommence within the facility on the part of both residents and their loved ones. We are also aware of the need to remain vigilant against the potential for a second wave outbreak at the facility, having just emerged from the initial outbreak.
Therefore, the following guidelines will apply at Kirkbrae effective from Wednesday 30 September.
- It is the management of Kirkbrae’s preference that visits to residents remain restricted as much as possible. We urge the families and carers of all our residents to carefully consider the health and wellbeing of residents, staff and themselves at all times.
- We will allow a maximum of one visitor per resident per day for up to two hours. Conditions will apply to these visits. These are:
- Visiting can occur between 10 am and 8 pm, 7 days per week.
- Visits must be pre-booked with the facility. Bookings can be made by calling Kirkbrae Reception between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday only.
- The total number of bookings per timeslot will be limited in order to ensure we have no more than 10 visitors in the facility at any time.
- Flowers and fresh food are not permitted to be brought into the facility. Confectionary, newspapers and magazines are permitted.
- The timeslot of up to two hours cannot be split amongst a group of visitors/family members.
- Children under the age of 16 are not permitted to visit
- Visitors will only be admitted via the Acacia Wing entrance. On arrival all visitors will be screened. This includes a temperature check and completion of an attestation form regarding exposure to or symptoms of COVID-19
- After screening visitors will be fitted with Personal Protective Equipment – a surgical mask and a face shield. Cloth masks or home-made masks are not permitted to be worn in the facility.
- Visits will be restricted to residents rooms. Common areas are not to be used for visits.
- Visitors must maintain a 1.5 metre distance from the resident at all times whilst visiting.
- We will still offer the alternatives of window visits, garden visits (weather permitting) and video calls.
The general rules applying to Aged Care visits still remain in force.
You may not visit an Aged Care facility if you:
- have been in contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19 in the past 14 days
- are unwell, including with a fever or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (such as cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath)
- have not had a flu vaccination in 2020
Anyone who visits an aged care facility must have had an influenza vaccine in 2020.
These visiting guidelines do not override any of the other Stage 4 restrictions currently in place in metropolitan Melbourne. For example, if you live greater than 5km from Kirkbrae you are not exempt from the travel restrictions currently in place.
Visits to residents for compassionate reasons, for example if a resident is receiving end of life care, are not subject to these guidelines. We will continue to provide access to visitors on compassionate grounds based on the circumstances that apply to the resident at the time.
We will review the guidelines regularly based on the advice of the Victorian Government and general Public Health advice and publish any changes or updates as they become applicable.
The patience and support of all residents and their families is sincerely appreciated as we continue the recovery from the outbreak.
Rev Grant Lawry
Convener
Social Services Committee
John Fogarty
Acting Chief Executive Officer