Benetas is committed to managing visitor access at our residential aged care homes to ensure the utmost health and well-being of the older people in our care. To balance our residents’ quality of life with their safety, we continue to update our visitor protocols to meet the status of COVID-19.

These protocols are designed to support our aged care teams to effectively screen visitors on arrival, uphold compliance to density requirements, and ensure appropriate use of PPE and hygiene requirements on site. Please find the latest protocols detailed below.

As always, if you require exceptions at any point, please contact the Residential Manager at the home and we’ll work to accommodate your needs wherever we can.

Last updated: 22 February 2021

Following the conclusion of the Victoria’s five day lock-down, Premier Andrews has specified that residential homes will have some restricted visiting arrangements going forward, being only one household may visit a resident once per day. Given the Victorian Government had not defined what a ‘household’ is, Benetas has taken the position that we will accommodate two visitors per resident per day.

As before, children are able to visit and constitute as one of permitted visitors. They too must comply with screening and PPE requirements. These are detailed below.

Visitors are welcome at a time that best suits them and your loved one.

Monday to Friday during business hours (9am to 5pm) no visitor bookings are required.

For after Hours and weekend visits, please continue to make your booking to the home via phone or via the Zipline online booking system https://benetas.zipline.app (accessed using Chrome) to help notify the team of your expected visit.

We request that visits occur within the residents’ own room or outdoor areas (as stipulated by the home) where possible. This is to reduce risk of transmission in a home. To arrange a meeting in a designated dining or meeting room, please call the home ahead of your visit to arrange according to availability.

We will support visits to communal areas in the home for meal assistance and shared dining. However, this must be undertaken in line with density capacity for the room and visitors may be asked to return to a resident’s room where resident communal areas exceed density requirements among residents and staff use.

You are very welcome to arrange for a resident to join a social or family event outside of the home. To do so, please contact the Residential Manager of the home, and they will take you through the process to do so.

Please be aware that enhanced screening and testing applies to all residents who come in close contact with a confirmed case during this time. In this case residents will be tested and managed as at risk of COVID-19 (in-room isolation) until results are known. Specific exposure sites to refer back to are listed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

There are no longer any requirements for the purpose of your visit.

Upon arrival, you will be asked to complete an online screening and temperature check assessment. This involves:

• Reading a declaration form which confirms that you are currently feeling well, have not been in contact with a confirmed case of Coronavirus within the past 14 days, have not arrived in Australia within the last 14 days, are not waiting for a COVID test or waiting to be cleared of COVID.
• You will have your temperature taken. If your temperature is above 37.5 degrees you will be unable to enter the home.
• All visitors, including children, will be asked to provide proof of current flu vaccination. Where this is not available, fitted masks (even if / when current mask wearing is no longer mandated) will be required along with additional PPE to visit.
• You will be required to ‘sign in’ via our online booking platform Zipline, to acknowledge the above and provide a telephone number in the event that contact tracing is required.

Please remember, that you must not visit our homes if you have been to an exposed site during the specified period as listed by the Department of Health and Human Services. These sites are updated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

As part of our program's infection prevention and control measures, all visitors are required to comply with the following:

1. Physical distancing must be practiced at all times. That is no hugging, kissing, hand holding, in line with current public health directives.
2. Fitted masks must be worn at all times for all visitors who are 12 years and over. We request that visitors with cloth masks change out of this on arrival and wear one of the Benetas provided TGA approved surgical masks.
3. Screening measures put in place by the home must be practiced.

Visitors no longer need to book for their visit during business hours. To make a booking out of business hours and for the weekend, please either call the Reception at the home or use our online visitor booking system via https://benetas.zipline.app.

This needs to be accessed using Chrome or a recently updated web browser as Internet Explorer may not work. Chrome can be downloaded for free. Once your online booking is complete, you will receive SMS confirmation of this.

When you arrive, entry will then be limited to a designated entry and exit point where Zipline screening and temperature scanning stations have been set up.

To visit your loved one in residential aged care, please be reminded of the below:

• If you have any symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, please DO NOT COME TO THE HOME. This is also important for those who have been caring for sick children.
  
• Don’t forget your Flu Vaccination documentation. And if you have had COVID-19 and since been cleared, we will also need documentation on this.
• You must not visit our homes if you have been to an exposed site during the specified period as listed by the Department of Health and Human Services. These sites are available HERE.
• As always, if you require exceptions, please talk to the Residential Manager regarding your family and loved one's situation.

Please read our FAQs for more details