18 September 2020
Greystanes Disability Services would like to re-assure you that we are all doing our very best to stay COVID:19 safe. Greystanes have been complying with the NSW Health Directive for the past three weeks and will be until next Friday or until the Blue Mountains region is declared safe by NSW Health. The Blue Mountains as of 16 September has 5 active COVID-19 cases, all locally acquired. They include: a student at Blue Mountains Grammar School who attended school while infectious late last week; a household contact of the above case who did not attend school while infectious; and a close contact of the above student who is not at school. The NSW Health Directive involves the wearing of N95 rated masks for all staff and visitors, maintaining 1.5 social distance, washing of hands, taking temperatures and asking whether a person has visited a COVID:19 hotspot. It has been and will be difficult for staff wearing masks. We cannot thank them enough for their compliance. When the directive is lifted, we will continue to maintain social distancing, the washing of hands, taking temperatures and asking whether a person has visited a COVID:19 hotspot. Robert Tinsey
23 April 2020
It’s official, the Lockdown at Wilfred 3 is over tonight, by Order of the Nepean Public Health Unit. It is time for a momentous thank you to our Senior Practice Manager and her team of workers in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) at Wilfred 3 – not an easy job and dangerous, to our Registered Nurses, who kept all of our people throughout, in good health, especially our people at in the Jamisontown home, to our Human Resources Manager, to our seven staff in self-quarantine living through their private nightmares, and to all of our staff at Greystanes for their individual contributions to keep operations running smoothly in stressful times. We planned for an unfortunate event, before our government did, and that took a lot of co-operation and effort by our managers and staff. Sadly, some staff have not been able to work, to keep to the spirit of social distancing – and that still continues. Families are not able to freely or easily visit, and that is sad. At the end of the day, we are doing our best to protect our people, to keep them safe and healthy. Finally, I must issue a caution. I am personally very worried about the prospect of restrictions being eased. That brings with it a greater risk of fresh transmission of COIVD19 within the community. Of course, vulnerable people are most at risk. Therefore, whatever happens, everyone is reminded to keep up the best hygiene, keep good social distances, avoid travel – just keep local. We all must wait for an effective, proven vaccine, before we can relax. Keep very safe. Robert Tinsey
13 April 2020
NSW Health informed Greystanes on Sunday, 12 April 2020 that one of our staff have contracted COVID-19 outside of work, in the community. Six staff members who worked alongside and on the following shifts of this affected staff member are now on leave as a precaution. No staff after five days have shown any symptoms and we are hoping that will be the case into the future. No other Greystanes Community Living Home has been quarantined.
The house located in Jamisontown (South Penrith) is now being operated under quarantine conditions with staff using Personal Protection Equipment until 23 April 2020, when, if no staff or People we Support, continue to exhibit no symptoms, we will be able to lift quarantine practices.
NSW Health are working closely with us, and have been very reassuring, and have not recommended more than what we are already in have in place. They are also supplying Personal Protection Equipment.
We are lucky that we had already taken steps to stop cross-contact between houses. We will continue to keep Greystanes safe for everyone. Robert Tinsey