Following recently updated guidance from NHS England and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy I am pleased to announce the
Reopening of St Ives Physio Clinic
However, it is, by no means, business as usual.
Any patients requesting a face-to-face consultation will first receive a brief telephone consultation and/or screening via email from Suzie to assess clinical need and screen for any additional risk factors.
Where assessed as appropriate patients will be offered a face-to-face consultation. After the initial face-to-face consultation, it will be agreed between the patient and therapist whether future treatment sessions can be delivered remotely or if there will be a need for ongoing face-to-face treatments.
Principles for re-opening – Hygiene, Confidence and Communication
Hygiene – All reasonable infection prevention and control measures are in place and compliant with Public Health England guidelines.
Confidence – Patients, can have confidence of St Ives Physio’s ongoing strong commitment to ensure all safety measures are in place and followed at all times
Communication – St Ives Physio will be forthcoming with communication to patients at all times – via website updates, direct communication with all patients booking to attend and on-site information
Risk assessments for every aspect of the clinic environment and the patient journey have been written and are under continuous review. This is to ensure the clinic provides the cleanest and safest environment possible.
The infection prevention and control measures, along with PPE (personal protective equipment) complies with current guidelines and protocols, and will effectively minimize any risks of transmission of COVID-19 during treatment sessions.
The clinic will continue to follow the guidelines set out by the government, Physio First (private practitioners association) and NHS England – and respond to any changes to ensure we comply with all the necessary social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols.
What to Expect
The measures outlined below are to ensure the safety of both clinician and patient. I thought it may be reassuring and helpful to read of the measures I have put in place for all of our protection. Don’t worry, you are not expected to remember every stage. I will guide you through the whole process.
Cleanliness – the clinic will be undergoing regular deep cleans to ensure we maintain highest levels of hygiene. Industry recommended virucidal disinfectant cleaning products will be used to minimize the risk of contamination. All hard surfaces will be wiped with virucidal cleaning products between each patient visit. Potential for contact contamination will be minimized by both patient and therapist wearing gloves and FRSM (Facemask) at all times.
Face to face appointments – will only be offered to patients where effective treatment cannot reasonably be carried out remotely – patients will receive telephone screening consultation and discussion of the risks and benefits of face to face treatment.
Triage and Screening – all patients are advised not to attend the clinic if they are displaying possible signs of COVID-19, if they should be self-isolating under current government guidelines, or have been in contact with anyone suffering from Covid19 in the last 14 days. Please contact Suzie by phone or email if you have any concerns regarding symptoms.
Symptoms of coronavirus
The most common symptoms are new:
- continuous cough
- fever/high temperature (37.8C or greater)
- loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste (anosmia)
A new continuous cough is where you:
- have a new cough that’s lasted for an hour
- have had 3 or more episodes of coughing in 24 hours
- are coughing more than usual
A high temperature is feeling hot to the touch on your chest or back (you don’t need to measure your temperature). You may feel warm, cold or shivery.
Some people will have more serious symptoms, including pneumonia or difficulty breathing, which might require admission to hospital.
Please do not attend the clinic if you;
- are experiencing any coronavirus symptoms or have in the last 7 days
- are self-isolating as a result of coronavirus symptoms
- are sharing a household with somebody has experienced coronavirus symptoms in the last 14 days
- have been told to self-isolate as a result of having been in close contact with someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus in the last 14 days.
If you have any symptoms of coronavirus you should self-isolate at home and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19.
If anyone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus you should self-isolate.
What to expect when you arrive for your appointment
Upon arrival at the clinic patients are requested to remain in their vehicle and wind the window down. Suzie will come out to meet you wearing PPE. You will have your temperature checked by a non-contact Infra -Red thermometer to ensure you have no fever. If anyone exhibits a temperature of 37.8 or more, they will be asked to go home and to not enter the clinic.
Assuming temperature is normal, patients will be asked a series of screening questions before their appointment to ensure they do not have any Covid-19 symptoms and or have not been in contact with anyone who has. There will then be a further discussion of the risks/benefits of face to face physiotherapy. Assuming both parties decide face to face treatment is indicated, patients will be asked to sign and date the consent form. Please bring your own pen if possible.
NB it is a condition of treatment that you give consent for your information to be passed on to NHS Track and Trace service should the need arise. Obviously, this would only be done if required and would be subject to the full GDPR regulations. If you are not happy for your data to be used in this way you will not be eligible for a face to face treatment.
Patients are then requested to enter the washroom (doors will be wedged open so you do not need to touch handles) and thoroughly wash their hands and dry them on paper towels provided. Please apply sanitizing hand gel.
Suzie will meet you again and issue a face mask and disposable gloves.
You will now be escorted into the clinic room. Doors will be wedged open and you are requested not to touch the handles on your way out or in. The waiting room is out of bounds and will not be used at all. There is a plastic container on the floor of the clinic, please put your bag, mobile phone etc. in this container. It will be sanitized between each patient.
Suzie will be wearing all necessary PPE, including surgical mask, gloves and apron at all times during your appointment. If there is any chance of droplet contamination, e.g. during exercise, or manual therapy, Suzie will also wear a visor.
The treatment room is very large which makes it ideal for social distancing. Whenever possible during your treatment, Suzie will withdraw to the other end of the room to maintain maximum distance. Manual therapy and some other treatments have to be conducted at close quarters. As per govt guidelines there will be no more than 15 mins of contact within 2 metres of the patient per treatment session. This close quarters time will be recorded in your notes. This measure will also mean that if you should be contacted by NHS Track and Trace service your physio treatment is not classed as a close contact – because both parties are wearing PPE and have not been closer than 2 metres, for more than 15 mins.
After treatment you will be asked to remove your mask and gloves and place in them in the designated bin in the washroom. Between each patient I will allow 15 minutes to deep clean all surfaces using virucidal disinfectant and change the necessary PPE.
I can guarantee you these measures will not affect your standard of care. It will understandably feel a little strange to both parties, but I am sure you understand these measures will ensure the safety of all.
My aim is to allow patients to attend the clinic with the upmost confidence. I am committed to the highest levels of patient care and also transparency in how I operate. If you have any questions or feedback, with regards to any of the information above, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you would like further information regarding social distancing measures or PPE guidelines then please do not hesitate to contact me on 07764 156483 or suzie@stivesphysio.co.uk
On behalf of St Ives Physio Clinic – 12/06/2020
Review date – 20/06/2020 and weekly thereafter.
References :
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control