Home care during COVID-19 – what you need to know
As an aged care provider, we’re being guided by peak bodies such as LASA, Leading Aged Services Australia, ACIA, the Aged Care Industry Association, and the Department of Health to ensure we keep up to date with COVID-19 developments.
For more than seventy years of delivering aged care services, we have persisted through local and global changes and events, always doing our very best to maintain consistency of care to the people who have placed their trust in us. We’re continuing to deliver home care services on a daily basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. We meet regularly as a team to remain nimble and responsive, changing our practises to deliver the best of care in the current environment and to ensure the safety of our clients and staff.
Our home care clients and their families have enquired about our approach to COVID-19. The most common question is how we are keeping our clients safe. We have made some adjustments to the delivery of our care which we share below.
The COVID 19 lockdown has changed the delivery of home care in the following ways:
We continue to deliver all the services that our customers need, such as shopping, gardening, personal care, cooking, meal preparation and more. We follow best practise guidelines by the Department of Health which are:
- Increased hygiene – this includes keeping hands and surfaces sanitised
- Social distancing – keeping appropriate distance from clients when in their homes
- Communication – regular communication with our clients about what they need to do to take care of themselves so that they stay safe and well at home
Transport, medical appointments and shopping - we don’t take clients out shopping anymore but we will do the shopping for them. We’ll help with a shopping list, buy the groceries and bring them back home, stack the shelves of the pantry and help with meal preparation if needed. However we still take our clients to medical appointments.
Social trips – our normal bus trips have been postponed until it is safe for us to start them again. We still take our clients out for a drive one on one and we are visiting people at home, enjoying a board game or a cup of tea and a chat. We’re well aware that social isolation can bring on feelings of anxiety so we are mindful of this. Part of our role as carers is to enjoy social time with our clients as well, so this includes simple and pleasant activities at home.
Home maintenance, cooking and gardening – we’re still helping clients at home with cleaning, cooking and the gardening while practising social distancing and ensuring appropriate hygiene.
Personal care and clinical help – for clients who need clinical and medical help we continue to deliver this care with appropriate precautions. Our staff keep us informed of their own health and wellbeing and we are taking additional care to ensure that staff attending our clients’ homes are well.
Call your home care coordinator if you have any questions about the delivery of your home care during COVID-19
Your home care coordinator is only a phone call away. We are in regular touch with all our clients but please give them a call if you have any other questions about your home care. They will help change or add services to your home care packages that you may need during this time.
Call St Louis Home Care Adelaide on 08 8332 0950 or St Louis Home Care Victor Harbor on 08 8552 1481.
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