The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission sent out the directive on Saturday reminding residential care providers that they should be screening visitor and staff on entry to homes – just a day after Friday’s comments by the Prime Minister that providers should lift visitor restrictions to allow families to visit loved ones.
“In light of evidence that older people are more susceptible to contracting and being seriously affected by COVID-19, a highly precautionary approach has been adopted across the aged care sector in responding to the pandemic, based on the latest and best medical advice,” the Commission stated.
“This approach includes restricting visitors’ access to residential aged care services, and should also involve screening visitors and staff on entry to residential facilities.”
The Commission says it recommends the screening recommendations for all aged care homes include:
- single point of entry
- screening questions for staff and visitors
- temperature checks
Providers we spoke to however said they have been screening any visitors for weeks – a case of ‘too little, too late’?
