Twelve aged care and consumer peak bodies have released an updated Industry Code for Visiting Residential Aged Care Homes during COVID-19, which ensures Australians living in residential aged care can safely receive visitors. The update is in line with latest AHPPC advice.
The purpose of the Code is to ensure that older Australians living in residential care have as much protection as possible from COVID while ensuring that their mental health and social connections are maintained throughout the pandemic.
The Code signatories are calling for State and Territory Health Directives to list 'Partners in Care', who are people who go in every day to support their loved one, as 'essential care visitors.' This would mean they are always permitted to visit and provide care at residential facilities during community outbreaks. Their inclusion would be better for the resident, the carer and the residential care provider but they are not currently included in all State/Territory Health Directives.
The Code highlights the importance of alternative methods of keeping people connected at times of restricted visitations when there are local COVID outbreaks. At these times providers need to allocate staff time and resources to provide frequent opportunities for residents and their loved ones to connect through window visits, phone and video calls.
In response to the more virulent Delta outbreak, the revised Code has been re-endorsed by the Australian Health Principal Protection Committee and has been updated to reflect recent advice requiring aged care workers to receive the vaccine by 17 September 2021.
