Time to say a heartfelt thank you

2020 has been an unforgettable year for health and aged care workers!

With contact-tracing, social distancing and preventative measures the new norms, even our language has evolved in ways we couldn’t have imagined at this time last year. The bumps along the road out of the COVID-19 pandemic continue but all the signs are pointing to a New Year returning to a more stable new form of normality. In Australia, we’re hoping our health and aged care workers can soon resume more regular routines after a year of being at the frontline of our robust national response. 

At Bolton Clarke, our teams not only maintained services for our clients and residents but also supported the wider community by taking on new roles. This was particularly the case in Melbourne through the extended restrictions. More than 1,600 nurses and over 500 personal care workers and allied health team members made over 541,000 client visits over a six-month period. This includes ongoing work supporting community testing through the  Victorian Government’s Call-to-Test response, providing COVID-19 testing for people who are housebound.

Our training organisation, Altura Learning, played an important role in supporting the frontline response to COVID-19 for its member organisations and our industry as a whole, across Australia and internationally. Nowhere more so than in the UK where our local team has continued to deliver innovative solutions to keep clients connected with their employees throughout the harsh lockdowns.

In New Zealand too, we’ve maintained support for clients through tough restrictions and expanded our specialised care program for children with high and complex care needs. Our residential aged care and home care teams in Sydney have also worked in the epicentre for many months, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of clients and residents.

Nationally, we’ve completed more than 521,000 screenings so far this year to protect our clients and residents. Given social distancing and other safety measures, our residential aged care and home care teams have also proactively found new ways to help communities stay healthy, connected and active. Virtual calls and programs to enhance connection with family and friends have been a key focus.   

As we look forward to our relatively COVID-free holiday season, it’s important to remember that we owe this privilege to our dedicated and hard-working health and aged care workers. Our thoughts remain with those in countries that continue to deal with high caseloads. Spare a thought too for the important work that will take precedence this holiday season to make way for the approval and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.

I want to personally thank our Bolton Clarke teams for their resilience, courage and heroic efforts in supporting clients and residents through this challenging and unforgettable year.