• Our patient screening, practice hygiene, and staff PPE are all in line with current government and health guidelines.
• Our Osteopaths will be wearing FFP2 masks, full face visors, aprons and gloves.
• Our receptions have been provided with surgical masks, gloves and, if the situation requires it, full face visors.
• We have installed protective (sneeze) screens at the reception desk.
• The treatment rooms, couch, pillow cases, door handles, front desk and toilet will be cleaned after every patient.
• We have disinfectant wipes in the toilet if you wish to clean the seat, taps and handles for yourself (but we will clean it again once you have gone).
• Hand sanitiser is available as you enter the waiting room and in the treatment room.

• To reduce patient numbers attending at any one time, we are reducing our days so that only one Osteopath is working per day:
• Jane O’Connor will be working Monday-Wednesday.
• Neil Lunt will be working Thursday to Saturday.
• Patient appointments will be on the hour (although the treatment time will be 45 minutes for a new patient and 30 minutes for a repeat treatment). This is to allow us time to:
• Reduce the chances of patients meeting in the waiting room.
• Allow time to fully clean the treatment couch, desk, chairs, surfaces, handles, etc.
• Fully air the treatment room for the required 15-20 minutes between patients.

As a duty of care to all our elderly and vulnerable patients and for the safety of our osteopaths and staff we require all patients over 11 years of age to wear a mask at all times in the practice.

We are sorry if you are unable to wear a face covering, but we cannot allow anyone into the building if they will not wear a mask.

We are happy to provide you with details of other local Osteopaths who may be be able to treat patients without masks, but this would be at the Osteopath’s own discretion.

• You have had any symptoms of COVID-19: a high temperature, a persistent cough, or loss of sense of smell or taste in the last 7 days.
• You have someone in your household who has, or has had symptoms of COVID-19.
• You, or anyone in your household are considered extremely clinically vulnerable:
• You are over 70 and are considered vulnerable.
• Have an immune deficiency.
• Are currently having chemo or radiotherapy.
• Are a transplant recipient.
• Have pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, hay fever, COPD, etc.
• Have any illness or condition that may make you susceptible to COVID-19.
• You or anyone in your household has been in contact with someone with suspected/confirmed COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

If you have an appointment then, subsequently, you or a household member develop any COVID-19 symptoms please telephone the practice to cancel – there will be no cancellation charge.

If you have children and are unable to leave them at home, please do not make an appointment.

We do not have the facilities to look after children while a parent or sibling is having a treatment.

Only one parent, guardian or chaperone to attend, if the patient is a child or is someone who needs a chaperone.

If the patient is a child, one parent must attend at all times during the treatment.

Please do not arrive too early for your appointment.

If you do, please wait in your car until 5 minutes before your treatment time.

If you arrive early and have come by bus or on foot, we will ask you to wait outside or in the spare treatment room to prevent contact with the previous patient.

If you have been brought by a family member or friend, we respectfully request that they stay in their car.

If you need assistance getting in to the practice, they can help you to the door, press the assistance button at the gate, and our Osteopath or staff will help you into the practice.

Please wash or sanitize your hands thoroughly on arrival and on leaving the practice.

Hand sanitizers are provided near the front door.

We request that patients and chaperones wear a mask when attending for treatment, if you do not have one, we can provide a disposable surgical mask.

Patients wishing to pay using contactless cards will be charged £30 + £25 = £55 (normal treatment) or £30 + £35 = £65 (new patient), so that they need not touch the credit card machine.

Please pay by card rather than cash.

If you have a discount card, our receptionist can sign it for you, or you can sign it with one of our pens and keep the pen – don’t return it to the pot.

If you develop any symptoms of Covid-19 after attending the practice, please contact the practice immediately so that the Osteopath who treated you, the receptionist and the other patients that attended that day can be contacted.

SCREENING AND PATIENT RISK

Every patient and their chaperone (if they have one) will be telephoned and asked Covid-19 screening questions 24 hours before every treatment.

If you, or any member of your household, or anyone that you have been in contact with develops symptoms of Covid-19 your appointment will be cancelled and you should self-isolate for 14 days.

Despite all our efforts to clean the waiting and treatment rooms, and shield patients, there is still a small risk of contracting COVID-19 if you attend this practice. If you are a vulnerable patient, or are concerned to avoid all risk, we can provide an online or telephone consultation to avoid all physical contact.

We hope you will understand that these protocols are for your safety, and the safety of others through this time.

PPE Surcharge

In order to protect our patients and staff and to follow the best practice of Covid-19 safety precautions, we have purchased disposable PPE (gloves, aprons, visors, FFP2 masks for the osteopaths, and surgical masks for our receptionists and patients) and installed screens and a sanitising gel area in reception. We are also providing a freshly laundered towel (hot washed with bleach) for every patient for their warmth, comfort and modesty.

We have had to greatly reduce the number of appointments available in order to allow time for deep cleaning and airing the treatment rooms between every patient (following government and professional guidelines). Also, for the foreseeable future, will have just one osteopath working each day. This has reduced our available appointments by two thirds.

Unfortunately, in view of the expense incurred and the loss of patient numbers, we will be introducing a PPE surcharge of £5 per treatment to cover the cost of the disposable equipment, laundry and the extra time needed per patient.