CEO Update 27 May

I hope this finds you well. As you know the Victorian Government has today announced a 7-day lockdown in response to the number of community COVID-19 infections in Melbourne. We do not relish the inconvenience of this nor the anxiety that it will cause for many people. Nevertheless, it is a necessary response to the situation and as Melburnians, we know all too well what can happen if strong action is not taken early.

Detailed arrangements will be provided to you by staff shortly but essentially the following key changes will be in place –

• Day services will cease other than for a small number of high ratio clients/activities
• A number of online activities will be available from Monday 31/5/21. Details will be provided tomorrow
• Residential services will continue, but no visitors will be permitted
• Existing short stay bookings will proceed, but no additional bookings will be taken for the period of the lockdown
• As in previous lockdowns we will endeavour to provide more activities in residences utilising day service staff

It was encouraging to note that yesterday the queues for vaccination were as long (or longer) than those for testing. If there is a silver lining to this recent outbreak perhaps it will be that our community’s complacency about vaccination has been given a good shake.

This lockdown comes at a busy time and I apologise in advance if you feel as if you are being bombarded with information from Bayley House. Yesterday families should have received a survey seeking your input about Bayley House. This is important for us and will help guide what we do and how we do it. If you have not already completed the survey I urge you to do so.

In coming days you will also receive information about changes to the way in which we provide some of our services and how we charge for them. These changes, initiated by the NDIA, are complex and we have done our best to explain them clearly. Please reach out if you need assistance to understand the proposed changes. Client Services staff will be in touch over the next few weeks to ensure that all Service Agreements are current.

Thank you for your support of Bayley House. We will update you further if there are any additional announcements from Government.

Stay Safe and Well.

Warwick Cavanagh
CEO Bayley House