Covid-19 and Patient Safety
Well it's nearly business as usual. Still the same friendly welcome and the high levels of care and expertise.
As you know, all public places have created rules for visitors to follow for their safety and the safety of others. To keep you and all my other patients safe, I am following the guidelines set by the British Acupuncture Council which were created in response to government guidelines.
As our standards of hygiene are already very high, the main differences you will notice are the compulsory wearing of masks, social distancing where possible in the clinic, plenty of hand sanitising and lots of additional cleaning between patients.
BEFORE ARRIVAL
I ask patients to cancel their appointment if they or someone they live with develops symptoms of Covid-19 by the time of the appointment.
For social distancing reasons, unless patients need help for specific support and care needs, I ask them to come alone for the appointment where possible unless a chaperone, parent or carer is required.
Patients are asked to leave accessory items (bags and coats) in the car, or travel with as little as possible. If they need to bring them in, I provide a sanitised box to put items in on arrival. Patients should also bring their own drink bottle and blanket.
Unfortunately, there won’t be a toilet available at the clinic unless absolutely urgent. However, I will make arrangements if that might be an issue. My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.
ON ARRIVAL
I have spaced out patient arrivals and departures so that all visitors to the clinic can remain socially distanced. This allows for 30 minutes cleaning between patients. Patients are asked to not arrive early to help me with this.
On arrival, I run through a Covid checklist with my patients to ensure they have not developed any symptoms. Patients are then asked to sanitise their hands before entering the treatment room. There is a poster nearby to demonstrate hand sanitising techniques recommended by the NHS. They are also asked to sanitise their hands before leaving the clinic.
To keep all my patients safe, I am asking patients to wear ordinary surgical masks to the clinic. They may bring their own or I will provide one upon entering the clinic. I will be wearing a fluid resistant ‘IR’ mask which will provide them with a higher level of protection.
I will also take patients' temperature using a remote thermometer.
DURING TREATMENT
We will maintain a two metre distance in the clinic where possible, except during elements of the treatment eg needling and pulse taking.
Between treatments, I will sanitise all the surfaces that patients may have touched, including the doorbell, couch, chairs etc. I have removed any soft furnishings in the clinic and replaced them with wipe clean surfaces. I will be wearing scrubs which I will change for every session (ie half day or more frequently if they have come into contact with the patient)
