Hello everyone,
I am sure you are all probably aware by now that we are going into a 3 day lockdown from 4pm today (31/07/21) until 4pm Tuesday (03/08/2021). Our instructions for safe work practices during this time are as follows:
Service Delivery (1:1)
- As essential workers, we are able to continue operating through the lockdown in order to provide services for the vulnerable individuals we support. Support is to go ahead as usual, for the following reasons ;
- Essential education and work that can not be done from home.
- Obtain health care services, including receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Care or support of a vulnerable family member.
- Essential shopping within 10km of your home.
- Exercise outdoors with no more than one person not in your household within 10km of your home.
Group Supports:
- The Walking Group cannot proceed in it’s usual format of meeting as a group, but we would encourage this support to continue, although walkers will need to be separate from each other (this may involve finding different venues or locations to walk from)
- Cooking Group cannot proceed at the Historical Village, but we would encourage 1:1 in-home cooking support in lieu of the group meeting if any of the cooking group members are interested
Work – Caboolture Cooperative
- The Lagoon Creek Cafe will be operational for the duration of the lockdown, .
- The CCWC Mowing can proceed as usual
Please contact the Cooperative Manager Deb Greisheimer debgriesh@gmail.com to advise of your intention to use leave.
Buddy Up’s
- All Buddy Up Shifts are postponed until the current lockdown order is lifted
PPE & Social Distancing Measures
- Wearing masks during support time is mandatory for all staff and service users. Gloves are not mandatory but encouraged. If anyone needs to collect any PPE such as masks or gloves, these are available for collection from the Lagoon Creek Cafe between the hours of 8am -12.30pm Monday and Tuesday .
- If you are unable to collect during this time, you are authorised to spend up to $10 on a disposable mask for your own personal usage. If you keep the receipt you will be reimbursed by Better Together.
- As we already have over 500 masks available from the office we would prefer that you explored this as your first option.
- Service users are responsible for purchasing their own masks. If lack of an available mask is an impediment to a Service User receiving support (e.g they do not have one and cannot leave the house to purchase) then we are to provide them with a mask.
- Please refer back to seating service users in the back seat of the car, windows down, air conditioning set to open air during transporting – while the lockdown is active and will revert back to normal when the lockdown is over and restrictions are eased
- Support activities need to be within the government restrictions (see above for full list)
- Please ensure social distancing of 1.5m is adhered to at all times
- Wash your hands CORRECTLY and regularly as per your National Hand Hygiene Training
- Please observe surface disinfection protocols if using your personal vehicle during supports as per Environmental Cleaning Principles Training
Cancellations
For Cancellations please text, or email cc: manager@bettertogether.net.au to inform us of the cancellation and note the following details:
- What support(s) is/are being cancelled
- Who has made the request (the service user, a parent, etc)
- What time and date they made the request
- What channel the request was made via (email, text, call, etc)
Symptoms & Testing
- If you have any of the following symptoms please notify the office immediately and do not proceed to support until you have received clearance to do so:
- Fever
- Dry Cough
- Tiredness
- Aches & Pains
- Sore Throat
- Diarrhoea
- Conjunctivitis
- Headache
- Loss of taste or smell
- Skin rash or discolouration of extremities (fingers, toes)
- Chest pains or loss of breath
- Difficult breathing
- Loss of speech or movement
- If the service user you are supporting reports or displays any of the above symptoms please call the office immediately to notify and follow the following procedure:
- Contact the individual’s nominee, advocate, next of kin or other relevant individual to let them know
- Ascertain if the individual has an informal support available who can take them for testing (such as family). If they do, return them home so that they can be taken to a testing facility by a family member or member of their household
- If they do not, or you are unable to make contact, proceed to your nearest drive through testing facility so that you can both be tested and inform the service user that they will be unable to receive supports until testing results are returned.
- Please refer following link for up to date list of testing facilities https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/testing-and-fever-clinics
- Contact the office after conclusion of support to notify of what has happened
Contact Tracing
- During support, you must maintain adequate contact tracing records. This can be done automatically using the CovidSafe App (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.health.covidsafe&hl=en_AU&gl=US). If you do not want to download the app, you must keep paper or digital records of where you go and who you are with, especially if you are spending more than 15 minutes face to face with someone.
- Also remember to check in to any locations you visit using the “check in QLD” app,
Risk Assessments
- We hope that people can use their common sense with what is essential, and staying safe with PPE and social distancing, But as an extra precaution all staff are being directed to risk assess every support at the beginning of the shift, to consider;
- Reviewing the QLD health website for exposure sites to ensure yourself and the person you would be supporting has not been to any of the sites and if either of you have go and get tested and let the office know.
- What the support activities are for and ensure the meet the government guidelines around what is allowed to be done.
- Ensure correct PPE is accessible and reminding everyone of social distancing.
- Anything else that could increase the risk of catching Covid 19.
We will be sending text messages this afternoon to all service users for whom we have mobile numbers on file with a summary of the above information and a link to our website with further details.
Thank you everyone, hopefully we are all getting better at these lock downs and processes and can support everyone to stay safe!