As we continue adjusting to living with COVID-19, the City of Casey community may experience some changes to Council services because of the virus. Our website will have up-to-date information on any changes, delays or disruptions to services and facilities.
As always, the health and safety of our staff and the community remain our main priority. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
On this page:
Maternal Child Health:
Code Brown update: Tuesday 16 February
On 18 January, a Pandemic Code Brown was activated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left health services and health workforces in Victorian experiencing significant workforce pressures that were compromising essential health services delivery.
In alignment with the Code Brown, the Department of Health and Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) requested that maternity services and local government MCH services in Metropolitan areas prioritise their service delivery towards the youngest and most vulnerable children.
The plan is to focus MCH services on:
- infants aged 0-8 weeks and their mothers/caregivers
- Aboriginal infants and children of all ages
- infants and children of all ages with additional needs or concerns, including those on the Enhanced MCH program and those with COVID-19
While an announcement was made on 11 February 2022 lifting the Pandemic Code Brown, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have significant impacts across health services including MCH.
MCH services are still experiencing significant workforce pressures and workforce shortages, combined with increased service demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the temporary changes to MCH services are expected to remain in place until 11 March 2022.
During this time, MCH service delivery and consultations will be temporarily paused for older infants, children and families with no additional needs or concerns. Families whose appointments are impacted will be directly contacted by Council in advance of their appointment. We understand that this will cause concern for many families, so please see below for the alternative supports available.
Due to reduced capacity, there may be a delay in admin staff members being able to return calls, but we will attend to these as quickly as possible. Additionally, the First Time Parent Groups and Sleep Settling Information Sessions are now being run online. People registered for these sessions will be contacted directly either by phone or email.
In line with guidance from the Department of Health, our MCH service is prioritising essential services to the most vulnerable children and their families.
We understand that parents may have concerns about missing their upcoming appointments and families are encouraged to access the following alternative supports:
- Call the Maternal and Child Health Line on 13 22 29. The Line is staffed 24-hours, seven-days-a-week by qualified MCH Nurses and provides confidential support and advice about the care and health of your child (from birth to school age).
- Contact your regular General Practitioner or other regular health professional
- Visit a SuperCare pharmacy, which provides 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access to healthcare advice and pharmacy services, including a FREE, on-site nursing service from 6.00 pm until 10.00 pm each night.
- Contact an Optometrist for vision testing
- Contact your regular MCH service to discuss your concerns. The Central Booking Number for Casey's MCH service is 9705 5590.
Child, Youth and Family Services
From Tuesday 18 January, the Cranbourne Youth Information Centre will reopen. The hours will remain as 1.30 pm - 5.15 pm, Monday to Friday.
Narre Warren remains open for specific appointments only, including youth counselling and support (by referral). Hampton Park has now reopened and will operate from 1.30 pm - 5.15 pm, Monday to Friday.
Virtual sessions are still running; you can register your interest for these via the online booking form or by visiting the Youth Services Facebook and Instagram pages.
The YIC's can be reached on the following numbers:
Waste collection
Our waste collection services are also being impacted, and we ask residents whose bins are not emptied to leave them on their nature strip for collection the following day.
Hard waste services are also being impacted due to reduced staff. There is a 2-3 week delay when your hard waste collection can be booked. We ask our residents to plan ahead when making a hard waste booking, particularly if you are moving out of your property as all waste must be collected before your leave date. In some circumstances, our contractor may need to collect your hard waste on the Saturday of your booked collection week.
Safety message:
For the safety of our staff and community, we will continue to comply with all COVID Safe requirements and are working hard to maintain our services with as little disruption as possible throughout this time.
If you have any questions, please contact customer service on 9705 5200 or via email at [email protected] You can also reach us via the ‘live chat’ button on the bottom right of your screen.