Since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, things have been very uncertain and we have been asked lots of questions about what is going on with our business.
Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Are you open?
Yes, we are open, we’ve never been closed. As key workers providing medical service we were exempt from the closures. We were in fact asked to remain open to reduce the burden on GPs and the NHS. For the first 6 weeks we saw only emergencies. The next 2 weeks people with underlying health conditions and on 1st June 2020 we were given the go ahead to treat almost all of our patients.
What are you doing to keep your patients safe?
We are both taking our temperature twice daily and socially distancing as best as we can. We are wearing appropriate PPE during your treatment and regularly washing our hands or using alcohol hand rubs.
Do you have PPE?
PPE stands for personal protective equipment, it is used to help reduce the spread of the virus. Current guidelines for podiatry treatments is to wear a mask, gloves and plastic apron. In certain circumstances, if there is danger of splashing, we may need to wear a visor as well.
We are well stocked with PPE. Aprons and gloves are disposable. They are single use and used only for you
Is everything clean in clinic?
Both clinics and the waiting room have been stripped back to the bare bones to ease cleaning. The patient chair, our chairs, foot tray and unit are routinely disinfected between patients. In addition to this, we have upped our once a day tasks of cleaning the card machine, all other surfaces, door handles, iPad and waiting room chairs, to cleaning them between every patient. We have also purchased a steam mop so that the floor can be much more quickly washed and disinfected.
Is everything clean for Home visits?
Andy’s stool, the foot stool and bag are routinely wiped down and disinfected between patients. In addition to this his card machine will be wiped down after each use and his bag is stripped and cleaned daily.
Do I need to wear PPE for my appointment?
For the safety of ourselves and other patients we would appreciate it if you would wear a mask or face covering to your appointment.
There is no need to wear gloves, there is hand sanitiser on entry to the clinic. You will be asked to use the hand sanitiser on entry to the clinic even if you are wearing gloves.
What can I, as the patient, do to help keep you and your other patients safe?
If you develop symptoms of the virus, ie a fever, a new cough or the loss of sense of smell or taste, please cancel your appointment and self isolate for 10 days before rearranging your appointment. If anyone else in your household develops symptoms isolate for 14 days before rearranging your appointment.
Please try to arrive for your appointment on time, not too early, and come straight in.
Are your instruments clean?
All our instruments are cleaned and sterilised after each patient use.
Used instruments are submerged in cold water and scrubbed until they are visibly clean, they are then placed in an ultrasonic cleaner which agitates them for 15 minutes to ensure smaller dirt particles are removed. Then the instruments are placed in the autoclave which sterilises them at 134 degrees for 3.5 minutes.
For home visits once the instruments are sterilised they are stored in the blue boxes with the lids. This ensures they are as clean as they can be in the home visit setting.
In clinic, they are removed from the autoclave tray by tray as needed to ensure they are as clean as possible.
What should I expect in clinic?
As soon as you enter the clinic building there is a bottle of alcohol hand rub, please use this, even if you are wearing gloves. You will either be brought straight into clinic or shown to one of the waiting cubicles. Anything you are likely to touch will have been wiped down and will be wiped down again after you leave. Andy and Kath will be wearing a mask and apron, and gloves will be applied for your treatment. Rest assured our hands will have been washed and alcohol rubbed on numerous occasions.
What should I expect on Home visits?
On home visits Andy will enter your house with his mask and apron already on, he will put his gloves on just as he is about to start your treatment to ensure that they are clean for your treatment. As he has touched things such as the car, your gate and your door handle he will use alcohol rub before he puts his gloves on.
He will remove his gloves at the end of treatment and alcohol rub his hands, he will not remove his mask or apron until he is back at the car where it will be placed in a rubbish bag and brought to the clinic to be put in our waste.
Ideally and to adhere to social distancing only the person requiring treatment should be in the room and where possible socks and shoes should be removed in advance.
