What is Ballarat Hospice Care doing?
We are taking precautions to keep our community, patients, their households, our staff and volunteers safe. We will screen prior to every home visit for the risk of Coronavirus.
If we visit a home, our staff and volunteers will wear a mask. If required our staff will wear full personal protection. We expect that patients and carers will wear a mask or a face covering when we attend a home visit.
We are supporting and connecting with our patients using telehealth video calls and the phone.
We are reviewing each patient on a case by case basis.
WE NEED TO KNOW IF:
Anyone in the home has a fever or an acute respiratory infection (eg cough or shortness of breath) with or without fever.
AND
- Has the home had any visitors or carers over the past 14 days who are from a hotspot or lockdown area?
- Has anyone in the home been in close contact in the 14 days prior with a confirmed case of Coronavirus?
- Has anyone in the home travelled internationally in the 14 days prior to becoming ill?
Please let us know before we visit. The Coronavirus does not stop our work; we can use the phone and telehealth to provide support when needed.
Our organisation will be following the latest Department of Health and Human Services Coronavirus advice.
IN PREPARATION FOR A HOME VISIT:
- We expect that patients and carers will wear a mask or a face covering when we attend a home visit.
- Patients and carers need to provide their own mask or face covering.
- There are exemptions to the requirement to wear a mask on the DHHS website. Please ask us if you have any questions.
- To maintain social distancing we expect there will be no more than three people in the room (i.e. the patient, one carer and our staff member or volunteer).
Here is a guide for patients, carers and families regarding our BHCI COVID-19 Home Visits during the Pandemic.
Use the factsheets link on this page for more information about:
(A confirmed case is someone who has been tested for the novel coronavirus and the result was positive for the virus. This means that the person has been infected with novel coronavirus and there is a risk that you could spread the virus to other people)
(A suspected case is someone who has symptoms or signs of novel coronavirus and who is being tested for infection but has not found out the results of the tests yet. Until the results are known this means there is a risk that the person could have novel coronavirus infection and could spread the virus to other people.)
A close contact is someone who has been face to face for at least 15 minutes with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or been in the same closed space for at least 2 hours, when that person was potentially infectious. Being a close contact means there is a significant risk of becoming infected with novel coronavirus.
- Casual Contact
A casual contact is someone who has been face-to-face for less than 15 minutes with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or been in the same closed space for less than 2 hours, when that person was potentially infectious. Being a casual contact means there may be a risk of becoming infected with novel coronavirus. Stay alert and monitor for any symptoms of Coronavirus.
This fact sheet is for people receiving palliative or end of life care, both in the community or through a hospital-based outpatient service. It is also for friends, family and carers.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
- Stay at home and get tested if you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild
- Practise good hygiene – wash your hands frequently, cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow
- Keep your distance – stay 1.5 metres away from anyone you don’t live with
- Wear a face mask when you unable to maintain a 1.5 meter social distance
- Wear a mask if you plan to visit us at the Ballarat Hospice Care Palliative Care Hub
