Our thoughts are with all of our Members, Helpers and Five Good Friends staff who live in South Australia. A lockdown is difficult and we will continue working hard to maintain your services and the safety and wellbeing of everyone. You can find more information about the lockdown on the South Australian government coronavirus website.

What does this mean for your services?

We are committed to ensuring our Members receive the support they need. Visits can continue during the lockdown period. Helpers who live and work in South Australia must follow scenario 2B in the Standard Operating Procedure including wearing a mask, gloves and apron for all visits.

Rescheduling or cancelling services

We continue to urge all Helpers and Five Good Friends team members to be vigilant in their management of COVID-19 and any symptoms. This includes cancelling visits if they have any concerns. If your Helper does need to cancel a visit at short notice we would be grateful for your understanding. We will work very hard to ensure your services continue with minimal disruption.

If you want to make a change to your visits you can discuss this directly with your Helpers. If you require further assistance please contact our Member Services Team on 1300 787 581 and select Option 1.

Family and friends unable to visit

At Five Good Friends we believe in the power and importance of friendships. We aim for our support to not only be there for our Members but also for those close to them that provide care. COVID-19 can make it more difficult to spend time with those we love. In addition to the direct care and services we provide into the home we can also offer a Wellbeing Phone Call service.

This service is a scheduled phone call made to our Members to check on their wellbeing, see how they are going, and even just have a good chat (we all need that sometimes). We can also identify if there is any other support that is required. As part of the service the team will also complete a Wellness Survey which will identify and raise any concerns to the Care Manager for follow up if required.

If as a carer or a Member you feel this service could benefit, you can contact our Member Services Team on 1300 787 581, Option 1 for more information. We are here to help.

Resources available to you

The Disability Gateway is a free service that provides information and referrals for people with disability who need help because of COVID-19. It can also assist families and carers. The service is available by calling 1800 643 787. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, you can also call the National Relay Service on 133 677. It is available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm (AEST) and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 7pm (AEST).

Testing remains a priority for everyone

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath or runny nose, chills or sweat, even if these are mild, you should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible. You can also contact the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398 for advice. To arrange testing you can visit a COVID-19 testing clinic in your area. Please advise us and your Helper if you are going to be tested.

Vaccination

Commonwealth and State health departments as well as expert health advisors such as the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) strongly encourage vaccination. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our Members, Helpers, staff and the community Five Good Friends is following this advice by recommending vaccination. We understand there may be reasons (e.g. medical) that prevent vaccination.

There are a number of ways you can get your COVID-19 vaccine which are outlined on the Department of Health's website.

If you need assistance booking or attending your vaccination appointment, please contact your Care Team via details in the App or the Member Services Team on 1300 787 581 and select Option 1.

We shared this information by email as it is the quickest way we can reach as many Five Good Friends Members as possible. We would be grateful if you shared this information to assist in its distribution.

We are also grateful you have chosen Five Good Friends. We will continue to diligently monitor the COVID-19 situation and do our best to provide you safe, flexible, kind and consistent help and support.

Kind regards,

William Garton
Head of Quality and Programme Development
Five Good Friends