Aged Care Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program
A reminder that the Aged Care Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program 2021 is now available and is free for all participants.
RiskLogic and First 5 Minutes, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, have developed a tailored program targeted at aged care provider senior leadership, to cover core aspects of risk and emergency/crisis response preparedness.
The Program combines a series of self-paced eLearning modules and group‑based/1‑2‑1 mentoring to help you build or strengthen emergency and crisis management leadership skills. This can help better prepare your organisation to maintain the delivery of safe and quality care in challenging situations.
The mentoring component of the program has now commenced – with additional group mentoring session dates in November now available for sign-up via the registration page.
The group mentoring sessions aim to provide participants with an opportunity to build on the foundational theory presented in the online training, with a focus on drafting a Resilience Policy and Framework.
The webinar sessions will include discussions on:
- Importance of effective governance structures
- The role of the governing body or individual
- Key elements of organisational resilience
- Implementation and embedding of a resilience policy and framework
One-on-one sessions with a crisis management practitioner will also be made available for group mentoring participants.
For those yet to register or complete the online training – it’s not too late!
You can still visit the RiskLogic website to find further information and sign-up.
Webinar: The loss and grief of residents and home care recipients in aged care following COVID-19
The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB) is presenting a free webinar on loss and grief in aged care following COVID‑19.
The webinar will be held on:
Tuesday 16 November 2021 from 2pm - 3:15pm AEDT
Register to attend (free)
Grief can be experienced in different ways: the loss of a loved one, missing friends and events, or changes in a routine.
This webinar is designed for:
- senior Australians and those that care for them
- anyone working in the aged care sector
- those interested in providing bereavement support within the aged care sector.
The most recent ACGB webinar, Supporting the loss and grief of families and relatives of those in aged care as a result of COVID-19, which was held on 30 September 2021, is now available to view online.
Engaging in these webinars may help you to meet the Aged Care Quality Standards. Standard 7 requires an organisation to have and use a skilled and qualified workforce.
The webinar is funded by the Department under the COVID‑19 Grief and Trauma measure for aged care.
For more information contact the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB).
ACT – Vaccination information for in-home and community aged care
Now online: Webinar on mandatory vaccination for ACT in-home and community aged care workers
A recording of the live webinar on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for in-home and community aged care workers that took place yesterday is now available on the department's website.
Panellists from the Commonwealth and ACT Departments of Health as well as the Health Services Union discussed the ACT’s public health direction on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for in-home and community aged care workers and how it applies to them.
Panellists also discussed COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety, how aged care workers can access a priority COVID-19 vaccination and the grants programs available to help Home Care Package and Commonwealth Home Support Programme service providers support their workers to get vaccinated.
The recording includes approximately 30 minutes of Q&A on a range of issues relating to the scope of the public health order and workforce vaccination.
We encourage you to share the webinar link with your workforce, including volunteers, students and subcontractors and with your care recipients.
ACT public health direction on mandated COVID-19 vaccination for in-home and community aged care workers now online
Following consultation with aged care and disability support service providers, the ACT Chief Health Officer has issued a public health direction on mandatory vaccination with new vaccination deadlines.
An overview of the direction together with information for workers is available on the ACT Health website.
The direction requires both in-home and community aged care and disability workers to be vaccinated as a condition of their work. This means that staff must receive:
- their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by 15 November 2021, and
- their second COVID-19 vaccine dose by 13 December 2021
As a sector service provider, this vaccination mandate places obligations on you to sight evidence of your employee’s vaccination status, and report this status to the Commonwealth Aged Care Quality Safety Commission.
Further information about these requirements, and what they mean for workers and employers, is available on the ACT Government COVID-19 website
You can read more about mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in aged care on the Department of Health’s website.
If you have questions that are not addressed on the website, please forward these to the ACT COVID-19 Vaccination Program team at covidvaccine@act.gov.au.
How to get vaccinated
If you have workers that will be impacted by these directions who have not yet been vaccinated, they can walk-in for their COVID-19 vaccination at the following locations:
- St Andrews, located at 95 Groom Street, Hughes – Thursdays from 9am to 3pm.
- AIS Arena vaccination clinic in Bruce – daily from 8.30am to 8pm. The Rapid 9 (R9) bus is free for people attending the clinic for vaccination and a temporary stop has been setup at the clinic for attendees.
- Airport vaccination clinic, located 30 Nomad Drive, Pialligo – daily from 8am to 3.30pm.
Staff do not require a Medicare card or payment to be vaccinated.
Workers can also call the Helpline on 1800 020 080 (select option 4). The dedicated COVID-19 Vaccine Helpline can answer any questions about vaccination and help workers who prefer to plan ahead book a vaccination appointment.
A letter template which provides proof of employment as evidence of priority eligibility for vaccination is available on the Department of Health website. It is for all aged care workers – including subcontractors, volunteers and students on placement.
Booster vaccinations
Last week, the Australian Government accepted the advice of the expert Australian Immunisation Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) that people are eligible for a booster dose six months after their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As in-home and community workers could access a vaccination from 22 March this year, some will now be eligible for the booster. In Canberra you can get a booster dose at:
- a participating GP or pharmacy – you can find a local clinic via the Vaccine Clinic Finder on health.gov.au or call the Helpline on 1800 020 080 (select option 4).
- an ACT Government COVID-19 vaccination clinic. You can call the ACT COVID-19 vaccination booking line on 02 5124 7700 (7am to 7pm daily).