Letter To Clients Of Access Community Health

Please find below letter to Clients of Access Community Health from CEO Alison Van Wyk:

19th May 2020

Dear Client,

As of midnight Wednesday 25 March 2020, the New Zealand Government implemented Alert Level 4 in relation to the COVID-19 virus. This was in place until Alert Level 3 at 11:59pm on Monday 27 April. Just last week the Government has moved to take us into Level 2. We now have a better understanding of what Level 2 looks like and how it will impact us moving forward until we are in a position as a country to safely move to Level 1. Alert level 2, requires us all to “Play it safe” and ensure that as far as possible we continue to keep you safe within your homes.

We realise that this has been an extremely difficult and anxious time for you and your family and I want to thank you for all the feedback and kind words of encouragement you have communicated to us around the care you have received during this time. I also realise that some of you may have asked us to place the care and support you normally receive from us on hold.

Just last week the District Health Boards and Ministry of Health have advised us that we are able to begin the process of putting back in place all care and support you normally receive if you are comfortable for us to do so. If you have not already done so please do make contact with us to let us know when it is suitable for us to resume your care, and we will work with you to put a schedule in place. Please call Access Community Health on 0800 284 663 so we can ensure your health and wellness is prioritised and we can put your support back in place as soon as is possible. In some cases, you may not be able to have your cares at the same time, or with the same Support Worker as before, as we are not quite back to full staff yet, so please be patient as we work towards a more settled phase for us all.

If you haven’t done so already, you may like to sign up to our personalised client website; MyAccess, where you are able to view your care schedule and who will be providing your care. If you have a computer, tablet or cell phone and an email address you can register to use MyAccess or you can nominate, and consent for a nominated person or your next of kin to have access. You can send us messages through this website and provide feedback. We are also able to help guide you through the easy steps to set this up.

Please go to https://www.access.org.nz/MyAccess-Client-Portal or give us a call on 0800 284 663 and a MyAccess team member will be able to guide you through the service so you can see how it can assist you, your family and whanau to have

up to date information on your supported care.

You may see our Support Workers and Nurses wearing protective equipment such as masks and gloves when visiting you. This is in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health where we cannot maintain physical distancing to 1 metre when providing your care. Please do not be alarmed or offended, this is about how we can best support delivering care safely to you. I have attached the guidelines for you.

As we are allowed to expand our bubbles and move about in the community more, it is even more important that you are being careful not to put yourselves, or your Support Workers at greater risk of infection.

In order to keep all our clients and support workers safe in our ongoing fight against this virus we would like you to please inform us if, you or a person living at the same address:

• have symptoms of a cold – including a cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, fever or temporary loss of smell or taste
• is suspected, probable or confirmed to have COVID-19
• have had close contact of a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

If any of these apply to you or someone in your household, please call Access Community Health on 0800 284 663 so we can ensure you, all clients and our team’s health and wellness is prioritised.

We have also re-iterated to all of our team about the importance of not coming to work if they are unwell. If your Support Worker is not available we will be working to have an alternative team member support your care. Please feel free to ask our team when they arrive if they too are well.

In order to continue to protect our support workers and clients we will be asking all clients at every visit if you are well before we enter the home. We will also ask all clients to tell us if they or other household members are unwell and have symptoms such as, fever, cough, shortness of breath, or a sore throat. If you or a household member has any of these symptoms, your visit may need to be rescheduled.

If you or your family have questions about this letter, please contact Access Community Health on 0800 284 663 and we will be happy to talk through your questions or concerns.

You can find more information on the Government Covid-19 website. https://covid19.govt.nz

While we as a country recover from the impacts of this Covid-19 we want to assure you that we remain committed to supporting you to live within your own home as safely as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information or you would like to drop me a note and let me know how you and your family are doing. Please continue to be vigilant against this virus and help us reduce the risk of further spread.

Yours Sincerely,

Alison Van Wyk
CEO- Access Community Health

Please “Click Here” to view document ” Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirement for community care providers who are providing care in people’s place of residence”