COVID-19 Safety Procedures, guidance and information

Before your appointment

·         All appointments must be booked and paid for online before visiting the Practice.

·         We are unable to provide gowns and you will not be expected to undress, so please wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing.

·         Please wear a face covering for your appointment. We do require every patient to wear a face covering for your visit, unless you are exempt.

·         For your safety, at the present time there are no toilet facilities available. So please go before you come!

·         If you have any symptoms, continuous new cough, high temperature, loss or change to sense of taste or smell, then please not attend the practice. Email us to inform us that you won’t be attending and why.

Arrival

·         Please arrive on time for your appointment so that we can reduce overlap and contact between patients.

·         When you arrive at the practice you can wait in the welcome area.

·         Please sanitise your hands on entering the Practice. Hand sanitiser is available.

·         Your osteopath will be wearing full PPE for your safety.

After your appointment

·         In line with government and professional body guidance we are required to limit the amount of time you spend in the practice. So, at the end of the appointment you will required to leave promptly.

·         Please sanitise your hands on leaving the Practice. Hand sanitiser is available.

·         Hygiene guidelines will be followed after every patient.

SCREENING QUESTIONS

These questions are designed to help us assess your level of risk if you contract the virus, and how likely you are to pass on the virus to other people including staff and other patients.

We will ask you these questions when you make an appointment and when you arrive for your appointment, because your situation may have changed. Your osteopath is required to ask these questions again before commencement of treatment. Please bear with us - this is aimed at keeping you and your osteopath and other patients safe.

1.    Do you or anyone in your household have symptoms of Covid-19 now or in the last 7 days?

2.    Have you or anyone in your household been in contact with someone with confirmed/suspected Covid-19 in the last 14 days?

3.    Have you been abroad or to high risk UK areas in the last 14 days?

4.    Are you, or anyone with whom you are in regular contact, considered to be in a high-risk group if you contract the virus (clinically extremely vulnerable or clinically vulnerable – see groups below)?

5.    Are you, or anyone in your household, at high risk of transmitting the virus by nature of your occupation eg a nurse, doctor, care worker?

6.    Do you have respiratory symptoms or conditions such as asthma or hayfever?

VULNERABILITY GROUPS

CLINICALLY EXTREMELY VULNERABLE

Correct at 1/8/20

This group may include the following people

·         Solid organ transplant recipients

·         People with specific cancers:

o    People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy

o    People with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy

o    People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment

o    People having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer

o    People having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors

o    People who have had a marrow or stem cell transplant in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs

·         People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

·         People with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell)

·         People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase the risk of infection (inc high doses of steroids)

·         Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired

CLINICALLY VULNERABLE

Correct at 1/8/20

Clinically vulnerable people are those who are/have

·         aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)

·         under 70 with an underlying health condition

·         pregnant women

·         a lung condition that is not severe (such as asthma, COPD, emphysema or bronchitis)

·         heart disease (such as heart failure)

·         diabetes

·         chronic kidney disease

·         liver disease (such as hepatitis)

·         a condition affecting the brain or nerves (such as Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy)

·         a condition that means they have a high risk of getting infections

·         taking medicine that can affect the immune system (such as high doses of steroids)

·         very obese (a BMI of 40 or above)

Government advice

Stay alert - Control the virus - Save lives

Coronavirus symptoms are

·         a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

·         a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

·         a loss of smell or taste

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do.

Visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus for additional information.

WASH YOUR HANDS MORE OFTEN

·         wash your hands often - with soap and water for 20 seconds or use a 60% alcohol sanitiser if hand washing facilities are not available.

·         soap and water is more effective at removing the virus from skin than alcohol sanitiser.

·         cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then put the tissue in a bin. Use your sleeve if a tissue is not available. Do not use your hand.

Please wash your hands

·         after using the bathroom

·         before food preparation

·         before eating any food, including snacks