We're excited to be re-opening!
I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say it's been a VERY long 2 months of lockdown. For the protection of my own family members, I've had to remain closed during the peak of the virus, but I have been following guidelines set by the Government and the General Osteopathic Council very closely and continuously reassessing the situation.
Thankfully, I'm very pleased to say that the clinic will be re-opening as of Monday 1st June 2020, however, there have to be some big changes for the foreseeable future, and I'd like to take a moment to outline those here: -
Everyone, without exception, who comes into clinic will need to undergo screening for Covid19 symptoms and potential exposure, and this will need to be done every time you attend. The appointment confirmation and reminders that our system sends out will have a link to a screening questionnaire you can fill in remotely, and it only takes 10 seconds. The details you respond with will be kept securely with your records and will show if you've not filled them in. I'm afraid for safety of all parties concerned, if you've not filled it in, you won't be allowed into clinic.
Our cleaning policy has been updated to include constant disinfection measures between customers of frequently used areas, as well as cleaning of less used areas no more than every 4 hours of a clinic session. To aid with this, it's been prudent to have removed all soft furnishings from clinic including couch linen and towelling, all which have been replaced with wipeable covers.
Appointments have been spaced out to allow 30 minutes between customers, to enable changing of PPE, cleaning and aeriation of the clinic room in line with World Health Organisation guidelines, as well as aiding social distancing measures within the building. Understandably though, this will significantly reduce the amount of people we can see in one day, so please don't be disappointed if you can't get your favourite time slot, we will try our hardest to be as accommodating as possible.
On attending appointments, I ask kindly that you wait outside/in your vehicle until your designated appointment time to minimise your exposure risk. I've always embraced people bringing others to clinic, but for the time being where possible I now have to ask that you attend alone, unless you require a chaperone. In this instance, your chaperone will also need to be screened for potential covid19 symptoms and exposure risk. Please do not bring children into clinic where possible, though we do understand this isn't always attainable.
On entering the clinic, you will find us wearing scrubs and full PPE including disposable gloves whilst treating, aprons and a minimum of IIR2 surgical face masks. PPE, as I'm sure you are aware, has been almost impossible to source at pre-covid19 costs, and has undergone an extortionate price hike. Unfortunately, as a small business, we regrettably have no choice but to slightly increase our treatment fees to include these extra costs by £2 an appointment. We have kept the increase to an absolute minimum to still deliver the highest quality treatments at affordable costs.
We ask that you bring your own face coverings to protect yourselves and us during these uncertain times. Homemade masks/fabric masks are acceptable, but for those who don't have access to any coverings, we will have limited amounts of IIR2 fluid resistant style surgical masks for you to purchase at £1 per mask, the same price as we buy them for.
Whilst the clinic will still be offering face-to-face appointments, we will need to be careful about who attends. If you are in a high-risk category, having received an official letter asking you to shield due to health concerns, or have never attended the clinic before we will be offering telehealth appointments initially to try and address your needs from the safety of your home. We want to ensure you stay as absolutely safe as possible at these uncertain times. During the session we can take a full case history, again minimising the amount of time you spend with us should you need to come into clinic. All face-to-face appointments will be on a strictly 'as needed' basis. If you are unsure of what to do, please do get in touch and we will happily discuss your individual circumstances.
On arrival to clinic, you will be asked to use hand sanitiser or wash your hands, as well as using face coverings, as outlined above. The clinic will no longer be accepting cash however we have contactless card facilities or can send you an invoice in advance of your treatment to be paid before you attend. We also ask that you only bring what you need and avoid bringing excess items such as jewellery, handbags where possible to minimise cross contamination risks.
This is a very strange and new scenario we all find ourselves in, so please do have a little patience with us! We are trying hard to keep not only you safe, but ourselves and our family too. We cannot wait to get back into clinic and help you stay fit and healthy again!
As before the lockdown, you'll be able to book online via the appointments page on our website, o ray calling us on 01933 624323. We look forward to helping you feel good again soon!
