Giving you choice and control

ECC has continued to monitor the COVID-19 situation on a daily basis to ensure that we are keeping our customers and our staff safe.

ECC follows the advice from the Australian Federal Government and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This includes implementing DHHS’s guidance for coronavirus (COVID-19) planning in the community services sector https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/information-community-services-coronavirus-covid-19, and meeting the official Australian Government COVID-19 guidelines https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-resources

Current Victorian DHHS restrictions – as at 8 July 2020:

A State of Emergency was declared in Victoria on 16 March 2020 to manage COVID-19, currently active to 29 July 2020. This provides the Chief Health Officer with additional powers to issue directions to help contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep Victorians safe. As part of this, Victorians have been directed to stay at home to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

In line with advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government has announced that metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will return to Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions from 11.59pm on Wednesday 8 July 2020.

If you live in one of these areas, there will once again only be four reasons to leave your home:

1. Shopping for food and supplies
2. Medical care and caregiving
3. Exercise and recreation
4. Study and work – if you can’t do it from home

If you live outside metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, there are only three reasons to enter these areas:

1. shopping for food and supplies,
2. medical care and caregiving,
3. and study or work – if you can’t do it from home.

Caring for our customers

Supporting and safeguarding our customers is our top priority.

We have remained committed to ensuring the safety of our customers during the COVID-19. In doing so, we have implemented a range of actions that align with the advice of the Australian Federal Government, the Victoria Department of Health and Human Services, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the World Health Organisation, and our own quality practices.

ECC has also implemented a number of key measures to ensure the safety of our customers and our staff, some of which include:

• Scaling down our supports and services requiring person-to-person contact
• In some cases, where staff have been required to support our customers with feeding, getting dressed, etc, our staff have been trained to:
• Practice good hand hygiene before and after supporting customers;
• Assist customers if they feel or become unwell to access their medical practitioner to get tested or call the ambulance service 000
• Our customers have been training on practising good hand hygiene and keeping a safe distance from staff and others.

We have continued to stay connected with our customers through the provision of up to date information on current restrictions in Victoria is available on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) via email, postal main, our website and through our care staff.

Please do not hesitate to contact your Services Manager if you have any questions.

In addition, customers have also received information on how to keep safe and healthy and what to do if they felt unwell. Our office staff are available to direct customers to the right information channels whenever they called with a question on COVID-19 including access to the NDIS information and support available for NDIS participants that cover:

• Latest advice and news
• Information for participants
• Priority home delivery services
• Easy English, AUSLAN and languages other than English support
• Visit the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Safety measures

Safety measures that will be in place to support the continuation of our services include:

• Temperature checks for customers and staff;
• Adequate supplies of hand sanitiser and other personal hygiene aids;
• Enhanced safety signage;
• Manual recording of contact details;
• Additional cleaning arrangements; and
• Limits on activities where physical distancing cannot be achieved.

Staying connected

ECC will continue to provide updated information via mail-outs, our website and through your local manager. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions.

ECC looks forward to resuming full-service capacity over time and we encourage you to remain safe and vigilant. Please consider the safety of yourself and others at all times.

Contacts

If you have a specific question or need to speak to ECC directly, please contact us.

Caring for our staff

ECC has continued to honor our duty of care to our staff especially during the COVID-19. Our particular focus has been on protecting their wellbeing.

We have implemented a number of strategies including:

• Ensuring ongoing communication and accurate information updates are provided to all staff via emails, website and through their direct supervisors;
• Rotate workers from higher-stress to lower-stress areas and functions
• Implementing flexible schedules for workers who are directly impacted or have a family member affected by a stressful event
• Providing opportunities for social support
• Ensuring that staff are aware of where and how they can access mental health and psychological support services and facilitate access to such services
• Providing information for self-care strategies.

If you have a specific question or need to speak to ECC directly, please contact us.