Friday 31st July 2020
Dear Client or Family Representative,
Re: COVID-19 and your OLOC Service.
I am writing to you to give you an update about an additional five local government areas that have been identified by NSW Health as areas of concern. We have now included these areas in our screening protocols, which are:
- When our staff arrive at a client’s house, they will ask the client and/or the family representative whether the client has any cold or flu-like symptoms, however mild. If our staff become aware of a client having symptoms, that client will be asked to remain in their home, isolate from other people, and arrangements will be made for COVID testing.
- Wherever possible, normal services will continue but our staff will use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as a precaution when entering the client’s house, at least until the outcome of the COVID-19 test is known.
- If the staff member who comes to provide services resides in any of the following Council Areas (Canterbury-Bankstown, Waverley, Woollahra, Randwick, the eastern part of City of Sydney*, Parramatta, Fairfield, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Wingecarribee or Wollondilly) they will wear a surgical mask while providing services. (The eastern part of city of Sydney is Sydney, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Elizabeth Bay, Eveleigh, Alexandria, Beaconsfield, Rosebery, Eastlakes, Centennial Park)
- Similarly, when providing care to clients who live in or have visited any of the above Council Areas, our staff will wear a surgical mask while providing services.
- Staff will also ask you if anyone in your household or anyone who has recently visited you is waiting for results of a COVID test or has been asked to have a test.
We have had a couple of recent instances where someone in a client’s house was waiting for results of a COVID test but we had not been notified. Our staff entered the house without knowing this important bit of information and then had to leave the house, find alternative staff for other clients on their roster, and go home and self-isolate until the particular person’s results were released; happily the results were negative, but the process was very disruptive and distressing for our staff.
As always, our primary concern is making sure everyone is safe, so we ask for your cooperation and support.
If you have any questions about this letter or about COVID-19, please contact your Coordinator or the Assistant Coordinator on their usual contact numbers.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Squire
Quality and Performance Manager