Aged care lockdowns: Sunshine Coast facilities introduce restrictions amid Covid-19 cases

Multiple Sunshine Coast aged care facilities are in lockdown to manage Covid-19 outbreaks – leaving some residents living without airconditioning.

Aircons are turned off and visits are ruled out as some Sunshine Coast aged care facilities combat Covid-19 outbreaks, including one with 24 cases.

Several Sunshine Coast aged care homes are in lockdown but the experience has left residents and their families questioning the long-term plan to manage Covid-19 within the facilities.

An outbreak at Regis Kuluin prompted a lockdown in late December with 10 residents and 14 staff testing positive.

Immanuel Gardens at Buderim went into lockdown on December 30, and Estia Maroochydore on December 31, after each facility had one staff member test positive to Covid-19.

Arcare Peregian Springs has been shut to visitors since December 27 when four staff were confirmed with the virus.

Aileen Bartlett whose husband lives at Regis Kuluin said she was concerned with how outbreaks were being managed and worried for future lockdowns.

Airconditioners in some rooms were switched off for several days at the Kuluin facility.

Mrs Bartlett said meals were also running late due to a staff shortage.

“I can’t fault Regis in their care usually but they couldn’t administer the care needed while understaffed,” she said.

None of the locked down facilities were able to provide a date for when restrictions would ease – despite one – Arcare Peregian Springs not recording a positive case for at least a week.

They said the decision would be based on health advice from the state and federal governments and Public Health Units.

“There should be a better option,” Mrs Bartlett said.

“If they ease restrictions and someone else gets the virus – do we lock them all down again?”

A Regis spokeswoman said the facility followed state and federal health advice on how to manage the Covid-19 outbreak.

The spokeswoman confirmed air conditioners were turned off in “high risk areas as an infection control measure”, as recommended by health advice.

“However comfort is our priority and we risk assess each resident,” she said.

“A number of residents have had aircons reactivated.”

She said individual room service and having all meals wrapped for heat control led to a “slightly different” meal service.

Lutheran Services – which manages Immanuel Gardens at Buderim – confirmed contact tracing was completed and all close or casual contact staff were in isolation.

Chief executive officer Nick Ryan said the lifestyle team and chaplain were onsite to support wellbeing of residents throughout the lockdown.

A Queensland Health spokesman said while there was no statewide restrictions to visitors to aged care facilities, Public Health Units were responsible for assisting those with Covid-19 clusters.

“Out of an abundance of caution, this may include recommending they restrict visitors to avoid further spread within the facility and into the community,” they said.

“Covid-19 is no widespread in Queensland and inevitably affects healthcare and aged care settings.”

They said as a result of mandatory aged care staff vaccinations Queensland had seen “no major outbreaks with a high mortality rate” similar to what was seen in Victoria.