OUR 2023 COVID 19 POLICY AND PRACTICES

Updated for ‘living with COVID’

Last updated January 2023

A NOTE FROM OUR DIRECTOR
Due to the demand on our services, it is essential that we can continue to provide uninterrupted support to as many people in our community as possible while we navigate this challenging time together. 

To ensure that we can do this, we continue to revise our policies and procedures.

Our policies are underpinned by local and national directives and guidelines, as well as Safe Work Australia guidelines. 

At this time, we continue to wear face masks and ask that you do the same when attending the clinic. You will be asked some brief COVID 19 screening questions upon your arrival to the clinic.

Please do not attend the clinic if you have COVID 19 or if you have any cold and flu symptoms.

Please note, these directives, guidelines and recommendations are likely to change and we will update you if and when our policies change as a result. 

We appreciate your understanding and support for our team and our community to stay as well as we possibly can.

We look forward to providing you with our continued support. 

Sincerely 

Myf Murphy

OUR COVID 19 POLICIES & PRACTICES 

A Summary 

The following is a summary of our policies. It is important that you read the detailed descriptions of each policy to understand any changes that may affect you. 

  • Everyone working on our premises has been fully vaccinated and will not attend the clinic if unwell for any reason. 

  • Face-to-face support will be available for children, young people and family members. We expect that anyone who is aged 12+ to be fully vaccinated, you will be asked to provide a copy of your vaccination certificate. 

  • Telehealth support will continue to be available for everyone regardless of vaccination status. 

  • If you have COVID 19 you cannot attend the clinic. Your face-to-face appointment will NOT be canceled but will automatically converted to a Telehealth appointment (phone or video appointment). 

  • If you have COVID 19 and can notify us by 10am the business day prior to your appointment time, you will not be charged if you decline Telehealth. However, you may experience delays rebooking an appointment. 

  • If you have COVID 19 and DO NOT notify us by 10am the business day prior to your appointment and if you then decline an offer for your appointment to be converted to Telehealth we will need to charge you a cancellation fee. For NDIS clients the fee is as per your service agreement with us. All NDIS plans have cancellation fees built into them. 

  • For non-NDIS clients the cancellation fee is 50% of the appointment fee. We hope you appreciate that this helps us to cover our administration and business running costs in a long term effort to keep our fees low for the community. 

  • Control measures are implemented at our practice to improve ventilation and ensure the building is clean and sanitised, and as safe as possible for everyone at all times. 

VACCINATION STATUS & SUPPORT 

We will continue to support everyone in our community 

We are committed to providing support to every member of our community during this challenging time. 

Face-to-face Support 

  • Face-to-face support will be available for unvaccinated children and people aged 12+ who are fully vaccinated and able to provide a copy of their vaccination certificate. We require all adults aged 12+ to be vaccinated for face to face appointments. 

  • You will be asked to provide proof of your vaccination status. Your therapist will ask you a series of screening questions upon arrival to your appointment.

Telehealth Support 

  • Telehealth support will continue to be available for children and people aged 12+ regardless of vaccination status. 

  • Telehealth appointments with your regular therapist can be booked without disclosing or providing proof of vaccination status. 

  • To book a Telehealth appointment please contact your therapist directly. 

COVID 19 Vaccine Exemptions 

  • If you have a COVID 19 vaccine exemption please contact us as soon as possible to discuss how we can continue to support you. 

COVID 19 DIRECTIVES AND YOUR  APPOINTMENT 

Your face-to-face appointment will automatically be converted to Telehealth 

To ensure the continuity of your own care, and to ensure that we can continue to support as many people in our community as possible the following policies and practices have been implemented. 

As we live with COVID in our community it is likely that from time to you or your therapist may be physically well but unable to attend a face-to-face appointment. Such as when: 

  • You or your therapist have mild cough or cold symptoms. 

  • You or your therapist are awaiting a COVID test result. 

Your appointment will automatically be converted to Telehealth:

  • If you are physically well but cannot attend a face-to-face appointment your appointment will not be canceled but will be automatically converted to a Telehealth appointment (phone or video appointment). We will convert your appointment to a Telehealth appointment as soon as you let us know. 

  • If your therapist is physically well but cannot attend a face-to-face appointment your appointment will not be canceled but will be automatically converted to a Telehealth appointment (phone or video appointment). If your therapist converts your appointment to a Telehealth appointment we will contact you prior to let you know. 

As we have an ever-increasing waitlist for our services it is essential that every available appointment can be used to support a member of our community. 

COVID 19 DIRECTIVES AND OUR CANCELLATION POLICY 

Canceling an appointment or declining Telehealth

Our priority is to minimise the disruption to the support we provide to you and other members of our local community. As we live with Covid, it is essential that we can continue to use every appointment we have available to support as many people as possible. 

Therefore, the following policies and practices will apply when face-to-face appointments are not possible because you or your therapist cannot attend due to COVID.

  • If you have COVID 19 you cannot attend the clinic. Your face-to-face appointment will NOT be canceled but will automatically converted to a Telehealth appointment (phone or video appointment). 

  • If you have COVID and can notify us by 10am the business day prior to your appointment time, you will not be charged if you decline Telehealth. However, you may experience delays rebooking an appointment. 

  • If you have COVID and DO NOT notify us by 10am the business day prior to your appointment and if you then decline an offer for your appointment to be converted to Telehealth we will charge you a cancellation fee. For NDIS clients the fee is as per your service agreement with us. All NDIS plans have cancellation fees built into them. 

For non-NDIS clients the cancellation fee is 50% of the appointment fee. We hope you appreciate that this helps us to cover our administration and business running costs in a long term effort to keep our fees low for the community. 

Control measures are implemented at our practice to improve ventilation and ensure the building is clean and sanitised, and as safe as possible for everyone at all times. 

Please be aware that if you decline the offer of a Telehealth appointment you may experience significant delays in rebooking future appointments because your appointment time/s may need to be offered to a new client from our waitlist. 

Please note: If your therapist has told you that Telehealth will not be suitable for your treatment, you will not be charged for declining the offer of a Telehealth appointment. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact your therapist or our admin support team to discuss our cancellation policy further.

ATTENDING OUR PRACTICE 

How you can help us keep our community safe 

We are making constant efforts to reduce the risk of COVID transmission at our practice. 

Before your appointment 

  • Please contact us to change your appointment to Telehealth if: 

    • You are experiencing even mild cough or cold symptoms 

    • You or someone close to you is awaiting a COVID test result 

    • You have been directed to isolate.

  • Please ensure we can cite a digital copy of your vaccination certificate. 

And please don't worry - if you need help with any of the above prior to your appointment, please call us and we will work it out together. 

Attending our practice for your appointment 

  • When you arrive for your appointment your therapist will ask you a series of screening questions.

  • Please use sanitiser upon entering the building. Sanitiser will be provided for your convenience. 

  • Face masks must be worn at all times (age 12+). Please let us know prior if you have an exemption. 

  • Please follow physical distancing guidelines (1.5 metres). 

After your appointment 

  • Where possible please take used tissues with you. 

  • Please use sanitiser prior to using the door handle to leave the practice. Sanitiser will be provided for your convenience. 

Attending our practice with family members 

  • Whenever possible, only clients attending an appointment enter our building. We ask that where possible, family members or support persons bringing clients to our practice don’t bring extra people with them who will not be needed for the appointment. We ask the adults to bring the child or young person into the building, if there is more than one client in the waiting room, we will either ask you to wait in your car or we can provide an alternative area for you. 

  • We understand that sometimes siblings may also be attending the practice and they are most welcome when this is necessary. 

  • Family members (age 12+) or other support persons entering the building must be vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination and complete our health check survey prior to entering the practice. 

  • When mandated family members or other support persons must also wear a face mask at all times inside the building. Please let us know prior if they have an exemption. 

OUR ADDITIONAL COVID 19 CONTROL MEASURES 

What we're doing to minimise and manage risk 

We are committed to doing everything we can to keep our team and our community as safe as possible as we all begin to live with COVID in our community. 

Our people 

  • In line with national directives, every member of our clinical team have been fully vaccinated and have provided a digital copy of their vaccination certificate. 

  • In line with national directives, our cleaners and all trades people entering the building have been fully vaccinated and have, or will be requested prior to entering our premises, to provide us with a digital copy of their vaccination certificate. 

  • Everyone on our team has committed to work from home if they experience any cough or cold symptoms, however mild. 

  • Everyone on our team will wear face masks at all times inside the building. 

Our premises 

  • As much as possible the internal door will remain open to improve ventilation and reduce the use of the door handle. 

  • As much as possible all windows in the building will be left open to improve ventilation.

Our cleaning practices 

We Value Your Feedback 

These are unprecedented times, and the policies we are implementing to minimise and manage the risks of living with COVID in our community have been developed based on the best advice available to us at the time of writing. Our policies will be reviewed regularly and updated if that advice changes. If you would like to provide feedback on our policies and practices, please don't hesitate to email me directly at myf@hobartwonderings.com.