Your patience and support over the last week has allowed us time to bolster our internal contract tracing team and have them trained so we can better monitor and track virus exposures across Minda. The period of restricted access to our Brighton Campus has also allowed us to boost stocks of PPE and refine a range of processes in response to the Omicron variant outbreak.
We have reached a point where we can welcome more onsite and offsite visits with clients by family members.
To best protect our vulnerable clients, we need to do this in a measured and scalable way and ask you to note the requirements below:
What does a family member need to do to visit a Minda location?
- By prior arrangement, a maximum of two people per client at all Minda locations is required to comply with the maximum number of people as required by State Government. Depending on the type of accommodation of your loved one, additional visitors will be considered on a case-by-case basis - and that must be discussed with the house prior to a visit.
- If you want to have an on-site visit at any Minda accommodation, please contact the house in advance and let them know. Times will need to be scheduled to avoid multiple family visits at any given time and keep occupancy numbers within the requirements.
- Where possible, you are encouraged to enjoy outdoor catch-ups to significantly reduce the risk of virus transmission (weather permitting).
- Should you enter your loved one’s home, please do not make physical contact with other clients (eg no hugging and kissing).
- If you go inside your loved one’s home, please spend time in their bedroom rather than a communal area shared with other clients.
- At all times during a visit, you must wear a surgical-grade facemask which fully covers your nose and mouth. This offers increased protection to clients and staff.
How do you arrange an off-site visit?
- You are welcome to take your loved one away from a Minda property and must contact the house in advance to discuss arrangements. Again, this will need to be time scheduled as much as possible.
- When they return you will be asked to provide details about the visit – such as where you went and who they may have met; this is for their protection and that of their housemates and staff. If they have not been exposed to a known virus carrier or been in a high-risk location then they can be returned home like normal. Rapid Antigen Testing of a client when they return will be considered on a case-by-case basis and take into account any potential exposure risks while they were on a visit.
- You are strongly encouraged to consider virus exposure risks for an off-site visit, noting the State Government’s recommendation to limit non-essential travel. A walk along the beach, picnic in a park, home visit or drive in the car will generally offer a far lower infection risk than dining at a café or crowded location around strangers such as in a shopping centre.
- SA Health rules relating to wearing of masks in public locations must be followed. If your loved one cannot wear a mask, then visiting public locations is best avoided because of the increased health risk.
What happens if your loved one lives in a house impacted by the virus?
- If your loved one lives in accommodation which becomes impacted by a positive COVID case or has been identified as having a close contact concern, you will be contacted by Minda and advised as a priority.
- Residents living in a home that has a confirmed case or has been identified as having a close contact resident will immediately have restricted access.
- That means onsite and offsite visits will be temporarily suspended for a period of time due to quarantine requirements to prevent possible spread of the virus. We will work closely with SA Health and family members throughout that period.
- Clients will be monitored for any signs of being unwell and have 3 x daily temperature tests. In shared accommodation arrangements, consideration will be given to relocating a COVID-positive client to the Galway Building at Brighton as a temporary home to help prevent spread.
Why is it important to think of other clients too?
Our cautious approach to date has occurred because we have a duty of care to all clients. While your loved one may be fully vaccinated and has had a booster, the people they live and associate with at Minda may not be vaccinated or could have high-risk health conditions. More than 90% of clients have been vaccinated – but that means many are not and remain at risk of serious illness or death.
As we watch infection numbers rise in the community, it is inevitable we will see increased cases of COVID in our clients and staff. We have been providing daily updates to SA Health and will continue to do so. Our team of internal contract tracers will continue to track exposures daily.
Update about other Minda services
At this point in time, the following should be noted:
- The Minda Aquatic Centre will be utilised by clients and therapists exclusively, and the general public will not have access until the end of January 2022.
- Inc Café will remain closed until the end of January 2022.
- Minda Allied Health services will resume as of 4 January 2022. The Minda GP Clinic for clients will re-open on 17 January 2022. Where possible, TeleHealth consultations will occur instead of face-to-face consultations. Face-to-face consultations will occur in the Verco building on the ground floor (and not at PKC) as an interim arrangement.