Flu season has started and COVID carries on. Is your aged care facility ready for winter? Here is a short checklist to help ensure a safe winter for all residents and staff.
Overview
- Are residents and staff up to date with influenza vaccinations?
- Have all eligible residents received their COVID-19 winter dose?
- Are you ready and able to deliver influenza treatments?
- Are staff up to date with infection prevention and control training?
- Have all residents identified their “Partner in Care”?
Are Residents And Staff Up To Date With Influenza Vaccinations?
Influenza vaccination is free for residents and strongly encouraged. As at 31 May 2022, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania are providing free flu shots to adults until the end of June. Victoria, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are considering similar programs. For more information see ABC News: Which states and territories are offering free flu jabs and where do you get one.
As at 31 May 2022, most states/territories strongly recommend but do not require aged care staff to get an influenza vaccination.
| |
Influenza Vaccination Requirements For Aged Care Staff |
| ACT |
Not mandatory. |
| NT |
Mandatory of the influenza vaccine is available to the person. |
| NSW |
Not mandatory. |
| QLD |
Not mandatory. |
| SA |
Not mandatory. |
| TAS |
Not mandatory. |
| VIC |
Mandatory for staff who work in "residential aged care services operated by public health services" but not mandatory for staff who work in other residential aged care services. Staff who work in "residential aged care services operated by public health service" must be vaccinated for influenza by 15 August 2022. See Vic Health for more information. |
| WA |
Mandatory if the influenza vaccine is available to the person. |
For more information see Aged Care Alert | Flu vaccination mandates in the aged care sector in 2022.
Have All Eligible Residents Received Their COVID-19 Winter Dose?
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommends administering an extra “Winter Dose” of COVID-19 vaccine to aged care residents and other vulnerable people before winter.
Ideally, the dose should be administered at least four months after the person received their initial booster dose. However, in aged care facilities this can be reduced to three months to make it easier for the facility to vaccinate a large number of residents in one session. If possible, the COVID winter dose should be administered at the same time as the flu shot.
For more information see our previous article: How To Organise Your Winter COVID-19 Dose For Aged Care Residents.
Are You Ready And Able To Deliver Influenza Treatments?
The Department of Health is currently deploying packs of the prescription-only medication, Tamiflu (oseltamivir), an oral antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and B infections, to residential aged care facilities in a one-off pre-placement.
Facilities will need to source additional supply through community pharmacies in line with normal arrangements once the pre-placed stock has been expended. Western Australian facilities without permits to hold medications will need to access the pre-placed stock through WA Health.
The Department advises that “Tamiflu is a Schedule 4 Prescription Only medication. The pre-placed Tamiflu can only be used for residents of aged care facilities following prescription by an authorised prescriber.”
For more information see: Department of Health: Managing Influenza and COVID-19 in residential aged care.
Are Staff Up To Date With Infection Prevention And Control Training?
According to the Department of Health, “All staff (management, care workers and support staff) should be trained in basic infection prevention and control. You may wish to encourage staff to refresh their on-line training available on the Department’s website.”
Have All Residents Identified Their “Partner in Care”?
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has introduced the Partnerships in Care Program (PiC) to provide continued support to aged care residents during an outbreak. The program encourages residents to identify a family member, close friend or other trusted person to become their “partner in care”. This person can then be formally recognised and provided with basic training in infection prevention and control so that in the event of an outbreak they can still safely visit the resident at the facility.
The aged care facility’s role is to help the resident identify their partner in care, and then to facilitate training for the partner and maintain open lines of communication between the resident, the partner and the facility.
For more information, including recommended infection prevention and control training, see our previous article: Partnerships in Care Program: Facts and Resources for Residential Aged Care Providers.
Resources
See the Department of Health’s Getting vaccinated against influenza – Resource collection for information on:
- why and when you should get vaccinated against influenza
- who is eligible for a free influenza vaccine under the National Immunisation Program
- influenza vaccine safety.
See also:
