Aged Care – COVID-19
To reduce the spread of COVID-19 within South Australia, the State Coordinator has issued a Direction under the Emergency Management Act 2004 to limit entry into residential aged care facilities (RACF) in South Australia.
The Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 21) (COVID-19) Direction 2020 came into effect on 1 January 2021.
Latest update: No person who has been to a prohibited location is permitted to enter or remain on the premises of a residential aged care facility in South Australia.
A prohibited location means anywhere in New South Wales (NSW).
Visit the Contact Tracing page to keep up to date with the latest health alerts.
COVID-19 Infection control training
All employees or contractors who provide personal care or nursing care to residents must complete Understanding COVID-19 for Aged Care Workers prior to entering or remaining on the premises of a RACF.
COVID-19 Infection Control Plans
All RACF must submit a COVID-19 Infection Control Plan for all communal areas at the facility to the Department for Health and Wellbeing for approval.
COVID-19 Strategy for Residential Aged Care Facilities
The COVID-19 Strategy for Residential Aged Care Facilities (PDF 1MB)is available as a resource document to guide individual Residential Aged Care Facilities in the prevention, preparation, management and recovery stages of responding to COVID-19 situations in South Australia.
To supplement the Strategy, an Integrated Response Framework for the Management of Multiple Outbreaks in Residential Aged Care Facilities in South Australia (PDF 780KB) has now been developed. This document outlines the South Australian integrated response to the risk of multiple concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 in residential aged care facilities, establishes a blueprint to guide the collaborative roles and responsibilities of accountable responders, and identifies specific challenges and solutions associated with a range of escalating scenarios.
Aged Care Workforce
Operators of Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF) need to implement a number of changes to the way that employees and contractors at their facilities work.
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- Single site restrictions for personal care workers – To the extent reasonably possible, personal care workers must not provide personal care to residents at more than one RACF. All employees, contractors and volunteers must notify the operator of the RACF (as soon as possible) of any additional place of employment and any COVID-19 case identified at their additional place of employment.
- PPE Requirements – For information about PPE, see Infection Prevention and Control Residential Aged Care Facilities – PPE (PDF 217KB).
- PPE Training – Training staff in the correct use of PPE minimises the potential of COVID-19 transmission within residential aged care facilities amongst workers and residents. The SA Health Training Tool for the Correct Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Residential Aged Care Facilities (PDF 232KB) provides information about training staff in the use of PPE and resources for residential aged care staff. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Education and Training PowerPoint (PDF 1MB) can also be used for education and training purposes. The training tool provides a standardised approach to training and competency assessment in the safe use of PPE.
The following video can be used as an additional resource for staff training: COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Education and Training for Residential Aged Care Facilities.
- Training requirements – All employees or contractors who provide personal care or nursing care to residents must complete Understanding COVID-19 for Aged Care Workers before entering or remaining on the premises of a RACF. Refresher training must be completed every two months.
- Workforce Management Plans – All RACF must have in place a Workforce Management Plan to keep records of all outside employment undertaken by their employees, contractors or volunteers. This is to assist with contract tracing if required.
- COVID-19 Infection Control Plans – All RACF must submit a COVID-19 Infection Control Plan for all communal areas at the facility to the Department for Health and Wellbeing for approval via Health.COVIDInfectionControlPlan@sa.gov.au. To complete a plan, download the Residential Aged Care Facilities COVID Infection Control Plan Template (DOCX 597KB) and read the Residential Aged Care Facility COVID-19 Infection Control Plan Guidance (PDF 441KB)