Important Information Regarding COVID-19

Over the last few weeks’, the South Australian Government has further relaxed some of the rules relating to COVID-19 isolation periods and mask wearing to align with those in other states.

As an organisation we are continuing to follow all of the current COVID-19 guidelines as advised by SA Health. In support of this we would kindly ask that if you are not feeling well then please do not attend appointments at any ECH site or let us know so that services can be rescheduled if required.

For the most up to date information and advice relating to COVID-19 please see the SA Health website.

The health and safety of our clients, residents and staff remains our top priority, so to protect the ECH community you will see many of our staff continuing to wear masks. We would also encourage social distancing wherever possible and good hand hygiene.

In addition as of Thursday 6 May 2022 you will no longer need to scan a QR code, or sign in when entering an ECH site as this is no longer required.

As you may be aware South Australia, like many other states has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Like many other businesses within the community this has meant that some of our staff are isolating which has led to staff shortages across some parts of our business.

We are monitoring the situation closely and focusing on ensuring we can continue to deliver all essential services. Please be assured we are also doing our best to minimise the impact on all other services. However, this may mean unfortunately in some incidences we have to cancel or reschedule services or deliver them via telehealth.

We would like to thank you for your kind patience and understanding during this time as the health and safety of our clients, residents and staff remains our top priority.

To help keep everyone safe our staff will continue to wear masks both when delivering services in the home and at our sites. We would also recommend that you continue to wear masks as a precautionary measure. We will be reviewing our mask policy on 2 May 2022, following the Easter and Anzac Day Public Holidays and in line with any new Government and SA Health recommendations.

Booster Shot Now Available
With winter just around the corner, a winter dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is recommended to increase vaccine protection for selected population groups. This is now available for people aged 65 and over who have completed their primary course and received a booster dose four months ago or longer.

For more information on the booster and eligibility criteria please see the SA Health website.

Like many other businesses within the community the current COVID-19 situation has meant that some of our staff are isolating, this has led to a staff shortage across parts of our business.

We are doing our best to minimise the impact on our services however this may unfortunately mean that in some incidences we have to cancel or reschedule services or deliver them via telehealth.

The health and wellbeing of our clients, residents and staff remains our top priority and we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience as we continue to work through this situation.

The health and wellbeing of our clients, residents and staff remains our top priority in 2022. Please be rest assured ECH is following all SA Health COVID safety and vaccination guidelines. This includes the wearing of masks by all staff and clients and following safe social distancing measures, as well as wearing personal protective equipment for home services staff where appropriate

What you can do to protect yourself and our staff against COVID-19 when attending ECH sites:

• please ensure you check-in using the QR code
• wear a mask, correctly covering nose and mouth, at all times
• do not attend any ECH sites when feeling sick e.g. have a runny nose, cough, fever, headache
• keep a safe distance of at least 1.5m
• regularly wash/disinfect your hands

For the latest information and advice, we encourage you to please check the SA Health website. In the meantime we look forward to welcoming you back in 2022.

The health and wellbeing of our clients, residents and staff remains our top priority.
Please be assured that we are following the South Australian Government COVD-19 vaccination directives – for the latest information and advice please check the SA Health website.

The South Australian Government has announced the 7-day state-wide lock down will end at midnight tonight, Tuesday 27 July 2021. This means that we will be reopening all ECH sites and reinstating ECH services from Wednesday 28 July. Bus trips will resume from Wednesday 4 August.

To ensure the safety of our community all ECH services will be following SA Health COVID safety guidelines. This includes the wearing of masks by all staff and clients and following safe social distancing measures. When attending ECH sites please also ensure you check-in using the QR code.

For the latest information and advice, we encourage you to please check the SA Health website.  In the meantime we look forward to welcoming you back to our wellness centres and reinstating services from tomorrow.

Warm Regards,

Dr David Panter
ECH Chief Executive

Healthy Eating

Maintaining a healthy diet is extremely important. If you are finding it difficult to go shopping there are a number of options available including meal delivery services and fresh meal kits that can cooked at home. Click here for more information.

ECH can also help by going shopping and delivering groceries to you, to find out more please call us on 1300 275 324.

Maintaining your Mental Health

Maintaining a good sense of mental health is vital. If you’re finding it difficult during the current time then there are a number of support lines available, to help we’ve compiled a list of useful numbers below.

Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line – 1800 171 866
SA COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line – 1800 632 753
Carers SA Support Line for COVID-19 – 1800 422 737
Thirrili (for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities) – 1800 841 313
Multilingual Older Persons COVID-19 Support Lines includes six 1800 phone lines in different languages – visit www.picacalliance.org

The South Australian Government has announced a 7-day state-wide lock down, commencing today Tuesday 20 July 2021 at 6pm.

During this time all ECH sites will be closed with only essential ECH home care and nursing services remaining in operation. These services will be offered as home appointments only and will follow SA Health COVID safety guidelines including the wearing of masks by all staff and clients.

During this period, our maintenance teams will only be attending to critical maintenance requests where safety is affected, all other requests will be dealt with after the lock down period ends.

The health and safety of our clients, residents and staff remains our highest priority and we will be continuing to monitor the situation closely. For the latest information and advice we encourage you to please check the SA Health website.

As a community we need to work together to try and stop the spread, so please wherever possible I would encourage you to try and stay home and limit your movements over the next 7 days. Stay warm and stay safe.

Warm regards,

Dr David Panter
ECH Chief Executive