Image credit: Ian M. Mackay, virologydownunder.com
Throughout the pandemic we have taken great care to maintain a safe environment for our patients and staff. There is no more important time to maintain these precautions than now. No matter your vaccination status, no matter how mild your symptoms, no matter what you feel, COVID can infect anyone and can be transmitted if precautions are not taken. As much as we would all like it to be over, the pandemic continues on.
Our practice policies are designed to keep our patients, staff and community safe.
Vaccinated patients are less likely to catch Sars-CoV-2 and are less likely to transmit it.
Masks have been shown to be very effective at reducing transmission in indoor areas.
Facilities which maximise fresh air and use HEPA filters are safer than those that don’t.
These precautions are particularly important for our immunocompromised patients such as the elderly, those receiving chemotherapy or other immunosuppressant medications and those who have been unable to be vaccinated yet.
We have designed the facility to be as COVID safe as possible. For example, each consulting area is a self contained air conditioned environment with a HEPA filter.
Our HEPA units are Australian made AirClean8 made by Inovaaire run continuously and filter roughly 7-8 air exchanges per hour (more information here).
The clinic has maximised fresh air flow and has a large volume of air space.
Our concierge approach allows us to check patients vaccination status and confirm patients are not suffering possible COVID symptoms and have not been recently exposed to COVID.
A dedicated ‘virology’ waiting room and consult room also allows us to assess sick or exposed patients face to face safely and in a manner which will protects our vulnerable patients.
Our pathology provider has a separate entrance and its own air conditioning circuit.
Our Policy
We will never deny care for our patients, but we will make sure we provide it in a safe and appropriate manner.
Patients over the age of 16 who have not been vaccinated will be offered Telehealth appointments. If a face-to-face visit is required they will be seen in our dedicated room for high risk clinical encounters.
All patients over 12 are required to wear a mask. Younger children are encouraged to wear a mask if possible.
Proof of vaccination will be required.
Patients will also be required to declare ANY symptoms they are suffering or have suffered in the preceding 10 days, including:
- Sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, coughing
- Shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell
- Fever or tiredness
If a patient fails to disclose these symptoms and has an appointment while symptomatic, we will no longer be able to care for this patient and will have to transfer their care to another doctor and clinic. If you have symptoms, we will assess you in our purpose built room with appropriate PPE.
Care of COVID-19 disease
More information about how we will care for patients is available here.
