CEO Update 11 Jan

CEO updates

Great to see COVID infections have not escalated in the last week. Whilst this was not the start to 2021 that we had hoped for it is encouraging that local outbreaks appear to have been effectively contained. Hopefully, this bodes well for the way that new infections are managed in coming months prior to the availability of a vaccine.

We have been monitoring the situation closely and I am pleased to advise that, providing this week does not see an unexpected escalation in COVID numbers locally, we will ease the restrictions presently in place in our residential services effectively for next weekend January 16th, 2021. Visits to houses will not be limited to one hour for one family member at a time and residents are free to go with families as well as staff to other places. Some restrictions will remain for the foreseeable future; in particular visitors to houses should not access other areas of the house other than necessary. In the main this will be a designated area for visits. It may include the resident’s bedroom on occasions. It most certainly does NOT include shared spaces in the house (kitchen, living areas) or the bedrooms of other residents.

Please be conscious that the risk from COVID remains real and one of the most effective strategies in protecting our community is to limit activities, in particular social interaction. Visits to busy places like shopping centres or enclosed spaces such as cafes and restaurants is a higher risk than a walk in a park. Please bear this in mind so that we can all endeavour to keep everyone safe and well.

Our community and recreation activities have continued and are heavily booked. Tess Rouvray has made appropriate changes to some of the planned programs and we will continue to monitor and adjust the activities over the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience if some of these changes have impacted you.

Day services will return as planned on January 21st, 2021. Of course they will still not be the same as pre-COVID but almost all our clients will be back in face-to-face group activities. We have leased additional space in a number of venues to ensure that activities comply with Government COVID regulations as well as introducing additional ongoing hygiene and cleaning practices and we anticipate, given our experience at the end of last year, that the groups will run smoothly and safely.

It is increasingly clear that the first half of 2021 at least will be impacted significantly by COVID risks and therefore our strategies to provide services whilst mitigating those risks as best we can. We continue to liaise with DHHS, the NDIA and many other relevant organisations and partner agencies to bring you services and support which are of the quality you expect from Bayley House and which meet all safety and risk mitigation requirements. We are committed to keeping our clients, staff and families safe and to working with you and communicating with you to that end.

Once again, thank you for your patience and your support. Stay well and stay safe.

Stay Safe and Well.

Warwick Cavanagh
CEO Bayley House