We are very pleased to announce that all Quality Health Care services and offices have re-opened and we are operating as normal. We have taken this decision because in NSW and across Australia we have been highly successful in ‘flattening the curve’. The number of new COVID-19 cases in Australia each day is very low and the State and Australian Governments are beginning to take careful steps to ease restrictions.
All sites and locations will still be following the Governments guidelines and recommendations on hygiene, social distancing and testing and we will be taking every step necessary to ensure clients and teams are kept safe with minimum risk of infection. All QHC sites will ensure that teams and clients:
stay 1.5 metres away from other people whenever and wherever we can
maintain good hand washing and cough/sneeze hygiene
stay home when we’re unwell, and get tested if we have respiratory symptoms or a fever, and
all team members are encouraged to download the COVIDSafe app so we can assist the NSW Health Department to trace and contact people if a positive case is identified
From Monday 22 June all QHC sites and services will apply the following approach:
The QHC Office will re-open for team meetings and individual client appointments
Accommodation services will re-open to community visitors, community participation providers, health professionals and allied health teams as long as all visitors are well, follow site sanitation and hygiene protocols, have not recently returned from overseas and have not been in contact with anybody who has tested positive to Covid 19.
All QHC sites will maintain their cleaning regime and will apply increased hygiene and disinfection protocols particularly in high traffic/high use areas
QHC team members will take responsibility for sanitising and cleaning work spaces and rooms after use and all areas will be routinely cleaned throughout the day
Clients and QHC team members will continue to follow hand sanitation protocols and maintain physical distancing recommendations when in the community or working at one of the accommodation sites
If any QHC team member is feeling unwell we encourage them to remain at home and only return to work once symptoms are clear
If any QHC team member is showing any signs of Corona virus symptoms, we request and encourage them to get tested to rule out any risk of infection
Along with these measures the National Cabinet has released a set of safe workplace principles that Quality Health Care is adhering to as restrictions are eased across the State.
QHC clients and staff have the right to a healthy and safe working environment
We will work together to adapt and promote safe work practices across all services and sites
We will consult with teams to identify, understand and quantify any risks associated with possible infection
We will ensure sites are prepared and ready to implement strict hygiene protocols and social distancing between clients, staff and visitors
We must be ready to respond and control any positive cases of Covid 19 detected in clients and or teams
Quality Health Care is keeping in close contact with the NSW Government updates regarding public health orders and advice and our team is working continuously to keep clients and team members infection free.