Living at home and receiving high-quality home care is of the utmost importance for elderly Australians during the pandemic as they continue to want to live independently.
We recognise and empathise that during this time there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty about having close contact with your carer and other associated health professionals.
We recently discussed some of the measures that Accent Home Care is taking to look after its staff and clients during this time.
We thought it might also be beneficial to highlight some measures that you can take to protect yourself, and those around you including your friends and family.
What Measures Are We Taking To Protect You
Delivering valuable home care and support services were important before and have become more so during this challenging time.
This is why we as a Melbourne home care provider are continuing to adapt the way we deliver our services to ensure that your health and wellbeing is always our top priority.
As mentioned, we recently wrote a blog about what we’re doing to help our Care Workers who help you. Some of these measures include:
- Testing staff with rapid antigen tests 1-5 times a week free of charge
- If a staff member tests positive, they are removed from providing all services and are required to isolate for the required duration
- We use high-grade hand sanitiser, wet wipes, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Allow our staff members to work from home if they need to do so
- Regular training on what is best practice when delivering home care services during the pandemic
Self-Isolation During the Pandemic
We acknowledge that it is still incredibly important to receive your in-home care services during this uncertain time. We’d also suggest that there may be some measures that you can take to reduce contact with others while protecting yourself.
This is why we’d recommend reviewing your home care package to see if there are some ways that it can be adapted to suit the current environment.
For instance, if you have shopping as one of your required services and you receive help for this from a support person, then you might consider staying at home while they attend the supermarket and pick up your groceries.
They also might be able to leave your groceries by the front door in which case you can collect them and put them away. However, if that isn’t possible, we’d recommend ensuring they practice good social distancing while they help you unpack your items.
Telehealth
If you’re unfamiliar with telehealth, it’s when phone or video calls are used to deliver health services such as medical education, counselling, health education, and more.
The advantage of this is that you can receive the care you need from a health professional without having to leave your home.
For those older people in Australia receiving home care services during the pandemic, telehealth has been a welcomed method of care.
Protecting Yourself From COVID-19
It would be fair to assume that the Care Worker attending your home will be practising good hygiene before they enter to provide you with your various home care services.
However, we’d recommend that you too practice that same level of hygiene by washing your hands regularly, social distance where possible, and coughing into the crook of your arm.
These actions, as well as many more, will significantly reduce the chances of you contracting COVID-19.
We’d also recommend staying at home as much as you possibly can while also restricting visitors to those who really need to visit i.e family support carers and Care Workers.
With regards to medical management, we’d suggest engaging a home delivery service for this or asking your support person to purchase them on your behalf and deliver them to you.
If you would like to hear more about how Accent Home Care can assist you, call us on (03) 8720 1338 or email us on homecare@accenthomecare.org.au.