Rhiannon Box1
1Assistant Secretary, Service Delivery Division, Ageing and Aged Care, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
Abstract:
Four and a half years on from the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, COVID‑19, along with other respiratory illnesses like influenza and RSV, continue to cause harm and disruption to residential aged care homes. Continued efforts in boosting infection prevention and control (IPC) capability, regular vaccinations and provision of testing and anti-viral treatments remain vitally important to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of aged care residents.
As we shift away from responding to COVID-19 in a pandemic environment, it is important that we retain the lessons learned from the COVID-19 experience and use this knowledge to expand capability in prevention, preparedness and planning for future infectious disease outbreaks. Building robust IPC systems, including strong leadership, expertise and continuous quality improvement, will be critical to future-proofing the sector and embedding the management of COVID-19 into the core business of aged care homes.
Mrs Rhiannon Box, Assistant Secretary, Department of Health and Aged Care, will provide an update on the Department’s approach to IPC in aged care – reflecting on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and necessity for the aged care sector to be striving for a higher level of IPC and outbreak preparedness going forward.