He said staff would not let him in because he had not done a training course. It was black and white to him. While my father lives independently,he has dementia and he presumed that a training course of any sort was beyond him. The constantly shifting goalposts of COVID-19 restrictions have often left him quietly bewildered.
Visiting hours:isolation for a care home residentin the US caused by COVID-19.AP
This latest edict,apparently an industry code drawn up by caring and aged care organisations,sounded ludicrous. I rang the centre. Yes,he was correct. As there had been a COVID-19 outbreak in the nursing home,visitors were required to complete an online training course on COVID-19 safety and how to wear PPE. This would be followed by a face-to-face training course. To an 85-year-old man with dementia,this must have seemed an insurmountable obstacle to visiting his wife of 56 years.
After being refused entry to the facility,my father was assured by the attendant that an email would be sent to him with the link to the online course.
The image of him walking away from the building where his wife lived with helpless resignation is emblematic of the experience of the elderly over the last few years.
Most of us embraced restrictions at first,in the name of protecting our vulnerable citizens and loved ones. As time passed,we saw the challenges faced by those isolated in facilities and began to wonder about the toll it was taking on those very people we were trying to protect.
Dr Sachin Patel,runs Aged Care GP,which sends doctors into 70 aged care facilities around Melbourne.Eddie Jim.
I told my father I would help him with the training. When I arrived at his house,he had tried to make a start on the process but had opened an incorrect email and link. I went back through his emails and found the correct one for him,clicked on the link,signed him up for the course and went through the two training modules with him.
The information he was required to learn included instructions on how to wear PPE,such as donning the protective gown and tying behind his back. It also explained how to safely remove a mask and protective eyewear without touching the external surfaces. The idea that he would be able to perform these tasks effectively in the face-to-face training seemed unlikely.
However,we completed the modules,and I called the nursing home to tell them he was ready for his face-to-face training. The person who answered the phone commented that it was the weekend,implying that training would not be taking place. “Yes,” I said,“the registered nurse on duty can do the training with him.” He agreed.
I have found that the constantly changing COVID-19 rules and restrictions leave staff confused and that sometimes a firm tone can work wonders. I escorted my father back to the nursing home. I left him at the door awaiting his RAT test result.
The reintroduction of mandatory COVID-19 tests for travellers from China has sparked concern among tourism groups.
The problem is resolved for my father,but you have to wonder about other elderly people wanting to visit their partners who do not have someone to do the training with them and to speak up for them.
Or others,who,like my father,believe that they have been mysteriously prevented from visiting their partner. The complications of managing the virus in our community have become overwhelming to those who have declining cognitive function or just limited technical skills.
The decision to require online training for visitors to a nursing home shows very little compassion,empathy,or imagination. It seems obvious to most of us that this is too much to ask of an elderly person,but as usual,bureaucracies fail to see the individual and while online training is incredibly convenient for some,it is inaccessible for others.
A new year always provides an opportunity for new hope. Perhaps 2023,our fourth year of the pandemic,will be the year when we find the happy balance between safety from the physical repercussions of COVID 19 and compassion for those whose last years on earth are tainted with restrictions.
Maree Badgery-Parker is a high school teacher in Sydney.
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