Aged Care Risk Factor !

Easing the Coronavirus lockdown is bringing the prime minister into conflict with the aged care industry.  Mr Morrison  last week blasted the aged care sector for exceeding the Australian Health Care Protection Committee's aged care guidelines by implementing near-blanket visitor bans.  He threatened to force operators to seek official permission for lockdowns.

The problem is that this Coronavirus pandemic is particularly deadly to people aged over sixty and aged care is exactly where such people are concentrated.  Even when lockdown is implemented there is still the problem of staff and the necessary medical people whom work shifts carrying the virus into the facility.   In several Australian nursing homes this has run riot amongst residents and there have been numerous deaths.

This has caused a coalition of seven aged care peak bodies to demand action from state and federal governments to agree to a " revised statement - regarding enhanced resident protection that confirms that additional restrictions beyond guidelines are necessary."

Unfortunately, many aged care residents are suffering varying stages of dementia and loved ones visit constantly as a relief measure.  Cessation of face to face visits causes anxiety and yet we hear news stories from overseas where the virus has run through aged care and killed thousands of people. That has been less replicated here, but multiple deaths have occurred in some locations.

It seems the schools are about to reopen and work restrictions will be partially lifted but the virus will be with us for an indefinite period of time. Perhaps a partial remedy would be the use of tablets in aged care to allow electronic face to face visits without the risk of spreading the virus.  That other rule of keeping people a metre and a half apart would apply when visitors were allowed to come into aged care for a visit.  Such measures would reduce, but not eliminate the risk.

Where actual face to face visits are allowed it would be wise if visitors were required to have that tracking app installed on their phones. In the event of an alert that they had been near an infected person the aged person they visited could be isolated within the home.  In most aged care, residents who are transferred to a hospital or visit an outside medical facility are required to serve a period of isolation on their return.

It is probably too early to open aged care to unlimited visitors but with reasonable cautions an acceptable  risk ratio is possible.  Where it is allowed, common sense and visit duration would be the criteria that should apply.