Fighting the Flu in Aged Care
In 2020 and 2021, Australia spent their winters in heavy lockdowns, spending a significant amount of time at home and socially distanced from the public in order to not catch COVID-19. Due to this, we were also avoiding other illnesses, particularly the flu. So, it’s no surprise that in 2022, as we approached winter after months of (finally) being out of several lockdowns, the number of influenza cases seemed to skyrocket — which is especially concerning for our elderly population.
We’re fast approaching the end of winter now, and spring is right around the corner, but that doesn’t mean it’s a time to get relaxed on work health and safety, particularly in regards to aged care work and keeping residents, patients and your workforce safe from the flu (and COVID-19, of course!).
In order to keep on top of your winter WHS, the Australian Government released this helpful Winter Plan for residential aged care providers, and we highly recommend having a copy handy in your aged care business. The guide comes with valuable information regarding:
Vaccination (for residents and staff)
Communications (in the event of an outbreak)
Identifying illness exposure and testing
Managing outbreaks
Maintaining wellbeing (physical, mental and emotional)
Supporting residents
Checklists for winter preparedness in aged care facilities
Of course, having a guide is a great first step, but actually implementing the advice and managing your workforce WHS and compliance is where the real challenge begins. You need to have a robust compliance management system to ensure your contractors are meeting legal requirements as well as keeping themselves and the people they’re helping safe. That’s where Conserve can help.
Conserve’s end-to-end service and software solution helps to take the guesswork out of contractor management and compliance in your aged care business. We can help you manage and track if your workforce is up to date with their flu vaccinations, as well as their training, inductions, compliance documentation, and so much more. You can learn more about it in our aged care fact sheet here.
If you’re ready to streamline the way you manage your aged care business, get in touch with Conserve today, and subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates and insights!
