New resources for advance care planning, using personal protective equipment and caring for people with dementia have been launched to support aged care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Palliative care specialists the End of Life Directions for Aged Care program and Advance Care Planning Australia are hosting a series of webinars this month for aged care staff and other health professionals.
The ELDAC question and answer style webinar series explores a broad range of issues people working in the aged care sector face
The ACPA webinars feature panellists including palliative care and sector experts and cover:
- advance care planning priorities and actions in the context of COVID-19
- roles and responsibilities of the workforce and service providers in advance care planning during COVID-19
- resources from ACPA available for consumers, staff and service providers.
The first ELDAC webinar took place on Wednesday and explored end of life directions for aged care in residential care. Watch it here.
Find out more about the webinars on the ELDAC and ACPA websites.
Flowchart shows when to use PPE
The Department of Health has launched a new flowchart to help aged care staff know when to use personal protective equipment in aged care.
The flowchart is a step-by-step guide outlining when and how aged care workers should wear PPE to protect themselves and others against coronavirus.
The resource also includes information and diagrams on what to do before wearing PPE and how to remove PPE.
View the PPE flowchart here.
The health department has also added a training module on laundry to its suite of online learning resources to assist aged care workers.
Previously released modules cover PPE, personal safety, families and visitors, COVID-19 and aged care and outbreak management.
All training modules are available here.
Caring for residents with dementia
Dementia Training Australia has released a resources guide related to COVID-19 and a series of short online introduction courses on dementia.
COVID-19 An Informative Resources Guide includes information and external resources on coronavirus and provides tips on caring for people with dementia.
It also includes resources for aged care workers to look after their own mental health.
The short Dementia Discovery series aims to provide introductory level education about dementia to help staff new to aged care or to those with limited knowledge about dementia.
The course completion times range from five to 60 minutes.
Topics covered include causes of dementia, different types of dementia and how to provide care and support.
Access the informative resource guide here and the quick courses here.
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