Supported Independent Living and Respite

There are changes to our Supported Independent Living and Respite services. Read about them here.

The information below was published on 5 August 2020, and it is still current.

Supported Independent Living

There are state-based changes in our Supported Independent Living (SIL) homes.

Queensland

Family / carers visits can go ahead – they can be both social visits and visits for ‘care and support’.

All visits will need to be pre-arranged with staff and numbers may be limited.

Customers are now permitted to leave their home to enjoy recreational activities such as outdoor exercise, going to the library, cafe, or to the park.

Overnight stays are now permitted. This includes the customer’s family, partner relatives, or friend’s home. There are no limits on the number of nights a customer can be away from the SIL. Upon returning to the SIL precautions must still be taken to minimise any risks, such as immediate hand hygiene, changing and washing clothes and taking a shower before interactions with other residents occur.

New South Wales

Family / carers (and their dependent children) visits can go ahead – they can be both social visits and visits for ‘care and support’.

All visits will need to be pre-arranged with staff and numbers may be limited.

Customers can leave the SIL to visit another household, such as a parent or sibling. They can also attend an outdoor gathering of up to 20 people. Recreational activities such as going to the gym, going to a restaurant or visiting the library can now be undertaken. Limits on the number of people still apply.

ACT

Family / carers visits can go ahead – they can now be both social visits and visits for ‘care and support’.

Visits still need to be pre-arranged with staff.

Customers can leave the SIL to visit another household, such as a parent or sibling.

Overnight stays are now permitted. This includes the customer’s family, partner relatives, or friend’s home. There are no limits on the number of nights a customer can be away from the SIL. Upon returning to the SIL precautions must still be taken to minimise any risks, such as immediate hand hygiene, changing & washing clothes and taking a shower before interactions with other residents occur.

Victoria

The Chief Health Officer has issued a Directive for Care Facilities to restrict and limit access to facilities where many Victorian’s live and receive care. This has been done to protect many people, including our customers.

The following advice is taken directly from the Department of Health and Human Services website and links to the Directive for Care Facilities and is issued by the Chief Health Officer to help Victorians who live in ‘care’ facilities such as our SIL homes.

Find out more about these changes on the DHHS website.

Who can visit people in care facilities?

Visiting will be restricted, with limits on who can visit and the time and number of visits. From 11:59pm on Sunday 2 August 2020, visitors to any care facility across Victoria must wear a face covering unless they have a lawful reason not to.

You may only visit the following reasons:

as a parent, guardian or temporary carer of a resident of a facility aged under 18 years
as a parent, guardian, carer, partner or support person (for example a friend or sibling), of a resident of a facility aged 18 or over, to provide emotional and social support if that cannot be delivered via electronic or non-contact means
as a nominated person under the Mental Health Act 2014
for providing essential physical or emotional and social care that can’t be delivered by the care team or via electronic or non-contact means
for providing interpreter or informal language support to enable the care team to provide care
for learning to support a resident’s care upon discharge
for attending a dying resident or providing end of life support to a resident of the facility
in the person’s capacity as a prospective resident of the facility
to accompany a prospective resident

Any visitor who is unwell or is waiting for a coronavirus (COVID-19) test result will not be allowed to visit.

Care and support visits in Victoria

We’ve done our best to define what “support or care” can include:

Family involvement that is part of a behaviour support plan or other documented care plan. Tasks in the care plan should be completed at the SIL and not at another home or community location. These visits can be no longer than two hours. Social distancing (1.5 metre physical distance), infection control and other workplace protocols need to be followed. These visits will occur (where possible) in a designated separate space, which will be cleaned thoroughly before and after each visit. All visitors are to sign in and out and follow any onsite protocols.
Family involvement where a care plan does not exist and Aruma staff are unable to provide services or care. For example, families can provide support with personal care, cooking, cleaning or medical attention in rare circumstances where an Aruma staff member is unable to do so.
An approved “out-of-home” activity. This is where a family can take a customer to receive medical care, visit a loved one in hospital, attend a funeral or attend a wedding. Social distancing and all other government guidelines apply to these activities.

If ‘support and care’ can only be done at the family home, then the 14-day quarantine protocols outlined under ‘Movement of customers away from a SIL home’ would be required.

In-home customer support by external providers

Third-party providers are now permitted to enter Aruma services outside of restriction areas, provided they adhere to service guidelines.

In Victoria, if any services are required to attend the home this will be managed in accordance with the Directive for Care Facilities policy and the operational staff.

Visits to a SIL home

Our staff have the right to refuse someone entry to a site if they have:

Recently returned from overseas or a designated Hot Zone. Any person who has returned from overseas or a restricted zone is legally obliged to self-isolate for 14 days. Where this has not been carried out, you can highlight the Government requirements and that Aruma could be subject to fines should we not comply.
Are unwell with flu-like symptoms, such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath or fever of 37.5 degrees or higher
Declared that they are unwell on the sign-in sheet.
Declared that they have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the last 14 days.
In Victoria, all of the above plus
- Are under 16, unless they are visiting a resident who is receiving end-of-life care
- Any visitor who is unwell or is waiting for a COVID-19 test result will not be allowed to visit
- From 11.59pm on Sunday 2 August, visitors to any care facility across Victoria must wear a face covering

Respite

Respite services in NSW are now open. Numbers will be restricted to ensure we can comply with social distancing guidelines.

New South Wales

Southern NSW

Horsley: Open
Nowra Hill: Open
Berkeley: Open

Western NSW

Forbes: Open

Northern NSW

Warners Bay: Open
Armidale: Open
Alstonville: Open

Victoria

No changes to Victorian services at this stage.