News

In March 2020, SAPA, a collective of unfunded disability accommodation providers, reached out to several departments in the QLD Government across multiple sectors, including the Department Of Housing, Department of Disability and the Department of Health, to raise the alarm around the sectors limited resources and facilities to effectively isolate COVID positive residents in situ.

SAPA then worked with the QLD State Government to develop a Rapid Response Plan (RRP) to deal with outbreaks, should they occur. We are now in crisis and need to implement the approved RRP, only to find our sector and those we care for abandoned by the QLD State Government, relevant departments, Ministers and the federally run Public Health Units.

Increased pressure on the medical system due to the current COVID outbreak means hospitals are no longer an option for COVID-positive residents in assisted living.

SAPA members do not receive any government funding to provide these services and require urgent assistance to help manage outbreaks.

Our residents have physical and mental health issues; many have multiple co-morbidities and require a high level of round-the-clock care and supervision. A high percentage possess limited capacity to understand the requirements around isolation and infection control procedures.

Without facilities like ours, the most vulnerable in our society are often lost in the cycle between QLD health, crisis accommodation, government-provided housing and homelessness.

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