Concerns providers over-restricting visitor access

The consumer peak body for older Australians is calling on aged care providers to apply new visitor restrictions safely and sensibly and not in an unnecessarily strict manner.

The consumer peak body for older Australians is calling on aged care providers to apply new visitor restrictions safely and sensibly and not in an unnecessarily strict manner.

Provider peak bodies say the new guidelines are the minimum requirement and other measures are to ensure resident and staff safety.

The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that residential aged care facilities would have to increase restrictions on visitors for the next six months to help control the spread of coronavirus.

Visits have to be short, limited to a maximum of two people at one time during the day from family, close friends or professional service workers only, and take place away from common areas, he said.

The new guidelines also include restrictions on visitors who have travelled or are sick, children and others but call for flexibility on a case-by-case basis particularly for compassionate reasons. Read more here:

However, some providers are limiting visitors across facilities to compassionate grounds only or banning visitors completely regardless of the situation at a facility, according to reports, and statements from providers.

Council on the Ageing Australia (COTA) said on Thursday that some aged care providers were using the new restrictions as an excuse for unacceptable restraint on the rights of residents and families to be treated with compassion and respect.

Ian Yates

COTA chief executive Ian Yates said the guidelines provided appropriate measures to keep residents safe and prevent the spread of the disease.

“These new guidelines on screening visitors and restricting visitor access provide clarity and consistency across residential aged care, an industry that will play a crucial role in keeping older Australians safe and containing the spread of disease.”

He called on all providers to ensure they apply the guidelines safely, sensible and compassionately and proportionate for each resident and family.

“Compassion and respect on an individual basis are key to the implementation of these measures,” Mr Yates said, “not the cookie cutter approaches, top down edicts and lack of sensitivity and common-sense some residents and families are experiencing.”

Mr Yates said he listened to family members of a major provider this week who have been banned from visiting their family member without any notice.

“That’s not in accordance with our Aged Care Quality Standards that demand providers treat residents with dignity and respect and constructively engage with residents and family.”

Providers responding to ensure safety

Aged care provider peaks say that essential visits are going ahead and that providers are taking the measures they see as necessary to ensure residents’ safety.

However, providers will need to justify additional measures to the quality agency, Leading Age Services Australia said.

LASA CEO Sean Rooney said the safety of residents and staff was a shared responsibility between the aged care sector and the entire community.

“The restrictions announced by the Government are the minimum measures that must be taken to protect older Australians in residential care, many of whom are more vulnerable because of underlying health conditions,” Mr Rooney told Australian Ageing Agenda

Sean Rooney

“Half the Australians who have died from COVID-19 have been care home residents and all have been over 70.

“These rules are critical to saving lives – and we ask all families and friends of loved ones in care to join in this commitment.

“Some facilities may choose to implement additional infection protection measures depending on the circumstances and risks presenting to them at the time,” he said.

However, based on discussions with the Department of Health and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, he said facilities would have to justify measures beyond those announced on Wednesday.

“Providers will need to be clear as to the rationale for additional measures and the processes by which these have been implemented, including consultation and communication activities with residents and families.

“These measures need to balance care and compassion with protection and caution. This is not always easy and in many instances decisions are being made on a case-by-case basis to get this right.”

Essential visits continuing

The Aged Care Guild, the peak body for large for-profit aged care providers, said providers were continuing to support essential visits.

Aged Care Guild executive director of operations Nicholas Brown said: “Aged care providers across the sector were taking greater pro-active and pre-emptive measures to ensure the safety of those in their care.

Nicholas Brown

“It is important to note most aged care providers, including not-for-profit, in the sector have gone above and beyond the enhanced visitor restrictions outlined by the Government yesterday.

“The vast majority of residents and family members have been widely supportive of this decision,” Mr Brown told AAA.

“All providers are continuing to support essential visits to their residents with compassion and understanding, including end-of-life or support with mental health needs,” he said.

“We must strongly emphasise, the key for providers when enacting any changes is to regularly and consistently communicate with residents, their families and staff.”

Mr Brown and Mr Rooney said many providers were using alternative ways to help residents engage with family and friends including video conferencing to support their mental health and quality of life.

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Tags: aged-care-guild, coronavirus, cota, cota-australia, council-on-the-ageing, ian-yates, lasa, leading-age-services-australia, news-1, nicholas brown, Sean Rooney, slider, visitor-policy,

7 thoughts on “Concerns providers over-restricting visitor access

  1. Hi.

    Just went to visit my partner (Joy, 87 this year) and was told I couldn’t see her. I’ve been going in to see her and feed her 3 times a day 7 days a week for 2 years.

    Joy has vascular dementia and has had several strokes. She’s 90% blind, can’t walk, can’t feed herself (it takes about 30 minutes or more to feed her), can’t talk 100% properly… but she knows 100% of what is said to her and knows who I am. I feed her, entertain her and take her out the front of the complex twice a day. She likes it outside. It is my view her health will decline markedly without outside contact.

    I did have an exemption to see her but that exemption was struck down this morning. I’m not sure what the law is assuming I demand to see her.

    I understand there is a need to protect other residents. The company has about 7,800 employees. That’s 7,800 chances of infection to residents. Statistically, what difference if it were 7,801?

    More to come.

    Sincerely
    Steve.

  2. PS
    I’m mandated through the State Administrative Tribunal to look after Joy’s health. Being banned from seeing her for at least 2 weeks (possibly 10 weeks or more) means I can’t carry out my duties under the court ruling.

    Mr Yates hit the nail right on the head when he said: “not the cookie cutter approaches, top down edicts…”. Different residents have different needs… Joy’s are many.

  3. In reply to Steve Carey,

    I suggest you contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission by phone on 1800 951 822 (free call), explain the situation and ask their staff to speak to the provider as you have been unable to resolve the situation locally.

    Best regards.

  4. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) coronavirus (COVID-19) statement on 17 March 2020 states:

    “The recommendations outlined may be altered according to the particular circumstance of the resident, including those who are in palliative care or residents in dementia units, which should be considered on a case-by-case basis. These situations will likely necessitate increased social contact with visitors.”

    https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statement-on-17-march-2020.

  5. Whilst the group I work for has put in sanctions, we have not stopped family from visiting their loved ones. Yes we have restricted that window from 7am til 9pm to a smaller visiting hours so that we can take temperatures of all etc, there have been allowances for family/partners who co-support their loved one such as Mr Carey. These should continue. We have already cancelled so many things for our residents ie: music therapy, volunteer visits or led therapeutic activities, entertainment, and other cultural approaches; for the mental health and well being of the individual, family is even more important. What if schools close? How many workers will that impact, how can we care for people with a skeleton team? Sure put in place to support your loved one in their room or the garden. As front line staff we are doing our best, our best to keep healthy for not only residents but our own family members. We are already experiencing behaviour issues for people living with Dementia having the inability to move about as freely as they once did. I am unsure of the complete answer. Maybe there just isn’t one and we all have to do the best we can. But it is incredibly cruel for people in the last throes of their life not to have a loved one near.

  6. Hi
    I have been unable to see my mum since all this has happened. I am absolutely saddened that i cant see my own mum whom ive been visitng weekly for the past 16months. She has dementia and cant communicate with staff and i was always relied upon to asist in the care and management. She is the only parent i have left and for my children to miss out on seeing their nanna which she absolutly loved seeing ona regular basis. The rules have been far to harsh and not based on each individuals circumstances. i understand that they need to be protected but what i dont understand is that the deaths hav evome from staff members being at work and what is the differnce between staff entereing on a daily basis day in day out and having close contact with our loved ones. I just dont understand how this works? Now with some restrictions lifted slightly our Aged Care faciltiy still have harsh restictions in that only 1 visit per week and only between Monday and Friday in the mornigs and between 1-4.30pm which i work all week full time in the health industry. How is this fair to me to see my own mother who is being disadvantage by these restrictions yet staff continue to enter daily and have contact with her and others. They have also made it harder for all visitors in forcing all to have had the Flu Vaccine before entering the premises. How is this fair and taking away our choices in our health and our bodies. The flu vaccine will not prvent the COVID19 or anyone from getting ill. Best practice as said by the Government is to not enter the facility at all if unwell which is common sense. the Government has not made this mandatory across the nation so how is that this can be enforced in WA ???
    I am absolutely distraught that now i will not be able to see my mum for GOD knows how long . Noone can give me any clarification ive had sleepless nights not being able to visit her and now the uncertainty of when i can visit her again. How can this be happening to our loved ones when they need this constant contact to reassure them they are loved and cared for other than the facility. It is also affecting my children and my nephews and brother as for our mum we are her only children and familymin Australia and this not coming from any empathy or compassion from the facilites. Who screens staff on the weekends ? Who monitors the staff of their lives aoutside the homes? How is this reasonable in any way? what happens if my mum falls ill ? What happens i am unable to comfort her when she is unwell she has been my foundation all my life and now all this has been taken away from me being ther efor her and her seeing her family . She is 86 years old life is short and this is the most cruelist way of protecting our loved ones..
    I understand what can happen but so far the deaths have been cause dby staff not by visitors!!! This needs to reevaluate don individual case by case this not what the Government called for but fairness and compassion when puttin restictions in place !!!!!!!

  7. yesterday I was able to visit my mother in law for the first time in well over a month, she’s allowed one visitor per day Monday to Friday …she has had a stroke, got dementure and sits in a chair staring at the wall ,she won’t even watch tv….her mental health seemed so much worse.I work in aged care and know just how much some people need and depend on family. Now because her son works out of town,
    with circumstances the way they are, he can’t afford to take time off Monday to Friday as he would have to take the full day off , he can’t visit her weekdays…when I visited she constantly asked where he was ..
    I approached the nursing home and asked why they don’t have visiting on Saturday and Sunday and after a lot excuses they said its to expensive to put someone in admin to health check and show them to rooms on weekends…. that is appalling in my view…DIDNT THE GOV ALLOCATE EXTRA FUNDS TO NUSING HOMES FOR JUST THAT REASON….plus the huge fees they get to care for your loved ones.
    while I agree that precautions needed in aged care. whats happened to common sense …….
    it is a private nursing home maybe that explains it ….

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