As you are aware the World Health Organisation has announced COVID-19 as a pandemic. At the 201 Davey Street Practice we take our patients, staff, visitors and community health and wellbeing seriously.
Already adhering to strict Infection Control Guidelines, we have stringent cleaning, disinfecting and sterilisation procedures in place. In light of the current environment we have added the following procedures to ensure added protection to our staff and patients at the Practice.
For those with an upcoming appointment:
1.Have you returned from travelling internationally in the last 14 days?
2.Have you been in contact with anyone known to have COVID-19? or someone self-quarantined due to risk of that they have been in contact?
3.Do you feel unwell; have a sore throat, cough, or headache or had close contact with someone with these symptoms?
If so, please do not attend the practice, and phone us as soon as possible to reschedule your appointment. If you are unwell but wish to discuss health issues with a practitioner, please arrange a phone or video consult with reception. Please note normal consult fees will apply in this situation.
We have hand sanitiser at reception. We ask that you use it on arrival at the practice. Our waiting room might look different – we have removed magazines from the table. Our staff will be regularly decontaminating all surfaces in the Practice, including door handles, counter tops, pens at reception, chairs, floors etc.
We ask that you do not bring any other person to your appointment unless absolutely necessary. For workplace rehabilitation providers who would usually attend consultations, we can contact you by telephone as required after the consultation.
We understand this is an unprecedented and uncertain time and that you may feel anxious. We want to reassure you that our staff our well trained in infection control procedures and your safety is, as it always has been, our biggest priority. If you have any concerns, please call us on 6223 1011 or 62240935.
As this is a rapidly evolving situation, we will update you of any changes as advised by the relevant authority.
More information regarding COVID-19, how to protect yourself and what you should do if you are feeling unwell can be found at www.health.gov.au or by calling 1800 020 080.
The Tasmanian Government website provides regular updates http://www.health.tas.gov.au/. The Australian Government also has information https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov. There is also a useful website https://www.covid19data.com.au which provides regularly updated data about Coronavirus cases in Australia.
Peter Sharman
19 March 2020
