Welcome back to visitors

Restrictions have eased, but petanque is not yet back on the agenda at the Kerikeri Retirement Village. Photo / Supplied

The Kerikeri Retirement Village eased restrictions on visitor access to its care facility on Tuesday, albeit with restrictions.

Each of the 66 care facility residents is allowed two nominated visitors, with one or other of them, not both, welcome to visit once a day, Monday to Friday. Each visit must be pre-arranged with the Village by whoever holds the resident's enduring power of attorney.

Visitors must stay in the room of the resident they are visiting, and are be asked to observe physical distancing etiquette, chief executive Hilary Sumpter saying she would be guided by the Ministry of Health regarding the nature and extent of physical contact that would be allowed between visitors and their loved ones.

Visits are limited to 30 minutes, on an allocated schedule to avoid crowding, with the aim of having no more than 10 visitors in the facility at any one time. Visitors are asked to wear masks, which they need to take with them, along with any other personal protective equipment they wish to use.

Visitors are also asked to affirm that they are in good health, to provide details for contact tracing, to allow their temperatures to be taken, and to sanitise their hands before and after their visits.

"We're aware that these restrictions sound draconian, but they are the conditions specified by the NZ Aged Care Association, and they're in place for the protection of the lovely people who call our care facility home," Sumpter said, adding that visitor numbers needed to be restricted to reduce the likelihood of contamination.

The Village would maintain its policy of not allowing 'window visiting,' in an effort to keep the general flow of people in and out of its premises as low as possible.

"People congregating around the Village increases the likelihood of cross-contamination, a risk that we aim to minimise," she said.

"We haven't beaten this thing yet," she added.

"The Prime Minister and Director-General of Health are crystal clear on this point - it's a tricky virus, and it's still out there. And rest homes have proven to be particularly vulnerable, so we make absolutely no apologies for continuing to exercise a very high degree of caution for the safety of our residents."

The Village had enjoyed support for its access policies from families of those in the care facility, and understanding from those living in the Village. She encouraged families to continue using email, phone calls and video-call services to maintain contact with their loved ones in the care facility.

Meanwhile care facility residents are once again permitted to walk around the Village grounds and take part in dedicated, vehicle outings, while support staff and healthy volunteers under the age of 70 once again have access to the care facility, but need to observe a heightened sanitisation protocol.

Distancing and sanitising procedures are in place for the Village's independent-living residents who wish to speak with staff in the reception and administration area.

There are still no organised events or activities at the Village, however, and services such as podiatry, the day care programme and wellness activities remained suspended for this week. The hairdresser would continue to see customers from the care facility on different days to those living elsewhere in the Village, but is unable to accept appointments with people from outside the Village.

Sumpter thanked Village residents, and their families and loved ones, for the patience, co-operation and restraint they had shown during the more severe lockdown regime applied to aged care facilities over the recent lockdown period. She also praised Village staff for the "superb" way in which they were handling the pressures and difficulties created by the Covid-19 pandemic.