CEO Update 4 Jan

I hope you had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year. We certainly hope that 2021 evolves into a much better year than 2020. Having said that, it has not started out as well as we had hoped and the Bayside area in particular has seen a significant number of new COVID-19 infections and risk sites.

Given this news, you will not be surprised that, following discussion with Janet Batey, we have decided to impose renewed restrictions across our residential services. Hopefully, this will be for only a few weeks until the number of cases in the Bayside area diminishes.

We will return to a status that will be all too familiar to all of you, effective immediately:

• Visits to residents are limited to one immediate family member at a time
• Appointments must be arranged in advance with the residence team leader
• Visits will be in an area designated by the staff. No visitors may enter any other part of the house
• Visitor register, including COVID attestation, must be signed on arrival
• Sanitiser must be used on arrival and masks worn for the duration of visit
• Family may not take residents off the premises

Staff may take residents from the house, but outings will be restricted to ‘safe’ open areas i.e. parks, local areas. Shopping areas, movies and other enclosed spaces are to be avoided.

I appreciate that these changes will not be welcome news, but I hope they will contribute to keeping our residents safe. 2021 will be a year of managing COVID-19 risks and there will be times where outbreaks in other parts of Melbourne do not warrant action on our part.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any concerns regarding this decision. Residential staff and team leaders will be responsible for managing the changes in a practical sense.

I hope that over the coming weeks we will see evidence of a strategic approach by DHHS contact tracing and an accompanying rapid decrease in infections. Once the risk reduces significantly at a local level, the management team will re-evaluate the situation and I will be in touch with further appropriate changes.

I appreciate your understanding.

Stay Safe and Well.

Warwick Cavanagh
CEO Bayley House