Single site funding support for COVID-19 impacted areas in New South Wales including the Jervis Bay Territory
The Australian Government is closely monitoring the situation across the country.
Following the extended hotspot declaration in all of New South Wales by the Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, workers at residential aged care facilities in impacted areas are asked to continue limiting their work to a single facility to reduce the risk of transmission and protect workers and residents. This includes Jervis Bay Territory, as clarified by the Chief Medical Officer on 28 August.
Australian Government grant funding is available to support implementation of these arrangements in the whole of NSW until 10 September 2021; the range of activation dates across different locations are listed below. Single site arrangements should remain in place throughout this period.
|
Location |
Activation date |
End date |
|
Greater Sydney, including Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour |
16 June |
At least 10 September, pending no cases in residential aged care |
|
City of Cessnock |
5 August |
At least 10 September, pending no cases in residential aged care |
|
Armidale Regional LGA |
8 August |
10 September |
|
City of Dubbo |
11 August |
10 September |
|
All Regional NSW, including Jervis Bay Territory |
14 August |
10 September |
Where this results in additional workforce expenses, providers are able to seek reimbursement from the Australian Government through the Support for Aged Care Workers in COVID-19 (SACWIC) Grant. The SACWIC grant opportunity remains open until 31 December 2021.
For providers in Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council and Cabonne Shire Council, single site arrangements were in place from 21 July to 4 August before being reintroduced on 14 August. Where providers maintained these arrangements, any out of pocket costs incurred between 4 and 14 August can be claimed through the SACWIC Grant.
In addition to funding support, a reminder that providers can also access guidance on practical implementation of single site arrangements, including employee relations expertise, through the Guiding Principles Support Hub website or hotline on 1800 491 793.
Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted vulnerabilities in aged care crisis management and in particular, effective decision making.
The Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program 2021 aims to provide aged care providers with the knowledge, tools and confidence to build or strengthen their organisation’s emergency and crisis management capability. This will assist providers to better ensure continued delivery of safe and quality care in challenging situations.
RiskLogic and First 5 Minutes, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, have developed a tailored program for aged care provider chief executive officers, board members, senior management and directors of nursing, to cover core aspects of risk and emergency/crisis response preparedness.
When is the course available?
The program is available now. It will be delivered entirely online through a combination of:
- self-paced eLearning modules
- group mentoring sessions
- one-on-one sessions with a crisis management practitioner
This training program is free for participants - there is no cost to undertake any of the above aspects of the training program.
Who should attend?
Senior leaders of aged care providers who are seeking to better equip themselves with the skills and knowledge to build or strengthen emergency and crisis management leadership skills within their organisation.
Register from the following website.
NSW Health – Updated advice
The screening advice for residential aged care facilities and home care service providers has been updated for 28 August 2021.
The key messages for this update include:
- From 6 September 2021, aged care staff who live in an area of concern and work at a facility outside of that area will be required to have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend work. Upon request, they must be able to provide their employer with evidence of their vaccination status. However, this does not apply if the person has not been in the area of concern for the previous 14 days.
- Rapid antigen testing will not be a substitute for vaccination.
- All areas of NSW are currently under stay at home Orders.
- From 6 September 2021, staff who live in the Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland or Fairfield Local Government Areas will no longer be required to provide evidence of COVID-19 surveillance testing every 72 hours
This information can change rapidly so please check the NSW Health website at least daily for updates.
ACT Health - information for health providers visiting RACFs
ACT Health has issued information for primary care providers providing care into RACFs in the ACT with an outbreak. Where an RACF is in a COVID-19 outbreak, please always liaise with the relevant on site contact to understand the specific advice that they will have been given by ACT Health. This information has been distributed to GPs through the Primary Care Emergency Response COVID-19 Working Group.
During the period of the ACT lockdown, essential health care services must take reasonable steps to provide services via telehealth or other virtual care options where possible and clinically appropriate to do so.
Anyone who is in quarantine under a Public Health Direction must not work in a community health setting unless they have an exemption from ACT Health by emailing COVID.Exemptions@act.gov.au.
The COVID-19 situation can change rapidly and as such, advice for high-risk settings is subject to change regularly. ACT Health will continue to keep you updated through these Chief Health Officer alerts.