We care for you! – Throughout unprecedented times

Much like the saying for postal workers that “neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” throughout the unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, 9D Care was able to continually provide services to all our existing participants as well as onboard and assist new participants in need. Despite all the unforeseen circumstances the priority for our disability support workers, support coordinators and plan managers remained supporting NDIS participants with quality care whilst safeguarding their welfare.

Victoria faced enduring one of the strictest lockdowns in the world during the second wave.  When Victoria entered stage 4 lockdown many businesses faced challenges in continuing to service their clients with non-essential services closed, travel restrictions, curfews, and a restriction on visitors in the home.

As a result of this, many NDIS participants found themselves without disability services as non-registered providers stopped providing service. As an NDIS service provider that is registered with the NDIS National Quality and Safeguards Commission, 9D Care is required legally to comply with practice standards that include being able to continually provide service. As many others failed to provide the care necessary, we were able to continue provide quality disability support worker services as we are well equipped to create systems/processes to handle such situations.

Our management quickly enacted procedures to enable our office personnel to work from home virtually. Our workforce coordinators ensured continual services with replacement support worker schedules created should any personal carer be unable to complete a service. As obtaining hand sanitiser became challenging, we creatively sourced what we needed as well as personal protective equipment for our personal carers and cleaners to safeguard our participants and supported other providers where we could.  All our team completed Department of Health training and new risks to our participant’s households were identified and managed.

The lockdown severely impacted the mental health of many participants as they were unable to visit friends and family and were limited in their ability to step outside of the home with their support workers. For participants who need regular access and engagement with the community this took the biggest toll. However, our services team and carers came up with creative and fun ways in which carers could continue to engage with participants by creating social and recreational activities that complied with the rules set in place.

This included working together to learn new skills online to meet the participant’s goals. We taught them how to use virtual tools to connect with people in the community and found creative ways to engage in activities around the house.

One of our carers, Jennifer, did this by learning new dishes and cuisines to cook with the participant. Together they explored new scenes and kept active by going on regular walks in the neighbourhood.  She assisted the participant to clean up their home terrace and then re-created the space to make a garden. They utilized click and collect options to order new floral equipment and plants online.

Personal Care Services
Our disability support workers providing personal care services continued to attend in person home services during the lockdown. We ensured our carers had proper identification and complied with directives from the Chief Health Officer such as travel permits, masks and face shields for outbreak prevention.

Community Participation Services
Community participation services became extremely tough to maintain during the lockdown period. As interaction with the community became limited for everyone, the options for activities participants could engage with in the community became a huge challenge. However, our carers are adept at finding creative ways to support participants and found new and fun activities they could complete with participants.

NDIS Cleaning Services
Our trusted cleaners also took the extra precautions required to ensure the safety of our participants during this time. They attended wearing personal protection equipment and ensured deep additional sanitisation was done during home cleanings. This was an essential service during this time to protect participants and reduce the risk of infection in their home.