Coronavirus (COVID-19) update for the Minda community - 28/12/21

Thank you for your patience and commitment as we continue to do all we can to provide a safe environment for clients and staff during this period of uncertainty.

Our frontline staff are working hard to support your loved ones in a safe way, while our COVID Outbreak Management Team has been working extraordinarily long hours every day behind the scenes. In the lead up to SA's border reopening the team prepared a gold standard plan to respond to the rapid spread of Omicron in the community. We have appreciated the support provided by SA Health and other agencies during our response.

There have been occasions when ‘rules’ have changed rapidly and unfortunately this is likely to continue for some time as we continue to adapt with the changing conditions across our organisation and the wider community.

What is the latest update?

While a hard lockdown of our Brighton Campus remains in place to manage the safety and wellbeing of clients and staff, the Minda Brighton campus should not be considered a ‘hot spot’.

At the time of writing:

• There are no clients on Brighton Campus who are COVID positive;
• One client in a community house has tested COVID positive and is currently in hospital as a precaution;
• A significant number of staff have tested positive to COVID and we expect this will continue. The majority of exposures have occurred in community settings and we continue to trace staff and clients contacts to keep everyone as safe as we can.

This hard lockdown has caused frustration and anxiety for some families, but restricting access to our entire Brighton campus is the safest way to support vulnerable people and our staff. It was a decision supported by SA Health. Many other service providers and aged care facilities have now taken a similar approach.

In line with government recommendations to work from home where possible and limit movement in the community, we strongly advise that clients do not access the community other than for essential appointments. We urge clients not to leave the site and ask families and friends to not visit Minda sites.

We know some families may not agree with that advice. Because we support choice and control, clients leaving for an outing will not be prevented from doing so. However, because the safety of all clients and staff is critically important we cannot guarantee they can return.

We must consider the safety of other clients living in a house, clients of other houses they have contact with and staff members working in that area. We must also be mindful of the risk of a family member or someone else who spends time with your loved one who subsequently tests positive, resulting in the client becoming a close contact and needing to quarantine. There is also a risk that a Government directive may be released while a client is offsite, which may impact their return.

Should any of these above circumstances occur, families will need to assume responsibility for accommodating and caring for their loved one.

Thank you again for your ongoing support and patience.