We are Open COVID-19 Update 25 March
Physiotherapy, has been defined as an essential service and the current advice from the Federal Health Minister is that we are permitted to stay open. A well-organised, safe facility is where you should be, not an overworked GP practice or public hospital.
We treat healthy people with mobility and pain issues. These problems don’t go away overnight, in fact they can become worse with stress, anxiety and worry. Lack of exercise can also contribute to worsening of symptoms for a lot of conditions.
We are perfectly positioned to take strain from our healthcare system by continuing to be a primary contact for
- acute low back pain
- neck pain and headache
- wrist and ankle injuries suspected to be fractures
- triage for conditions which need Xray, MRI or other imaging
With the recent closure of Gyms and Leisure Centres, our Exercise Physiologist, Ashleigh Hooper is able to provide individual exercise in our on-site, well-equipped gym for training and rehab programs
The decision to continue working is one we have considered deeply. We understand many of you are in isolation, have kids home from school or prefer to remain at home. We are offering Physio and Exercise Physiology consultations via
- Phone using PhysiApp, our existing exercise prescription software
- Video online using Zoom for one on one consults and group exercise classes
We continue to closely monitor official advice and adhere to guidelines and protocols to maintain a safe working environment for everyone.
Finally, we know many of our community have recently been stood down or lost their jobs across a number of industries. We have a team of health professionals who’d like to help you out and we’re happy to take your health fund rebate only or defer payment for now. Feel free to talk with us over the phone.
Matt McEwan
COVID-19 UPDATE 18 MARCH
The global COVID-19 pandemic is obviously a very fluid situation. We’d like to update you again about measures we are taking to maintain the health and safety of our clients, team and community. This update is in addition to our previous statement, which is attached below
???? We are continuing to take our advice from Public Health experts, the Chief Medical Officer and NSW Health and remain open for business
❌ Screening procedures: Advice from NSW Health is that you are safe to attend your appointment unless you have traveled overseas within the last 14 days, or been in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, in which case you should self-isolate.
❌ We would ask you to also seek medical advice if you have fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath. Phone your GP
✔️ Clients will be asked to wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol gel hand sanitiser on arrival to the practice
✔️ We have taken further steps in our premises including ensuring chairs are now spread further apart in the treatment rooms and reception to avoid close contact while speaking, no longer using our water cooler, ensuring pillow cases are single use only and maintaining our cleaning and disinfection procedures. Feel free to report in and then wait on our “sun deck” for your appointment
✔️ Physiotherapists will continue to wash their hands between each and every patient
✔️ We are making contingency plans for changes in circumstances including innovative ways to continue your treatment plans, and continue to monitor official advice
For further information we suggest you monitor the following sources and treat information on social media sources with healthy scepticism
Australian Government Department of Health COVID-19 Health alert website
COVID-19 UPDATE 16 MARCH
Important Corona Virus Update: The safety and well-being of our clients and staff is always our priority. We are actively monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and taking advice from reputable, official channels and taking steps to help keep our community safe.
As we all adjust to new precautions, We want to highlight a few actions we are taking at Parkside Sports Physiotherapy while we remain open for business as usual
We would encourage you to stay home only in these circumstances:
1. If there is fever, cough or flu-like symptoms.
2. If there has been in close contact with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case
3. If there is a need to cancel an appointment as a result of this, we are suspending our 24-hour cancellation policy and cancellation fee until further notice and instead will call you back for a short phone consultation to help you with your treatment plan in the short-term
We are taking these extra steps
✅ Ensuring we are maintaining optimal hygiene standards, frequent hand-washing and sanitising, disinfecting door handles, desks, office equipment and eftpos machines
✅ More frequent disinfection of patient contact surfaces in treatment cubicles and gym area
✅ We are spreading out our waiting room chairs and cubicles
✋We’ve banned High-Fives at our daily meetings
???? We have maintained a supply of face masks, hand sanitiser and toilet paper to fulfil our short-term needs without being stupid about it.
☎️ We are screening phone bookings and making recommendations according to NSW Health guidelines with regard to recent travel and symptoms.
???? We have also increased the availability of hand-sanitiser dispensers and encourage you to use these on arrival in our front office
✅ We are committed to supporting public health authorities with any identified cases or concerns of potential transmission in the community and believe that transparency is key to everyone’s safety so rest assured that if we have confirmed cases in our premises we will be alerting public health authorities and taking responsible steps for the good of the wider community.
✅ We have strict rules in place to make sure that members of our team aren’t coming to work if they feel even slightly unwell and keeping our team updated through our daily team meetings and online communication channels to ensure that everybody remains fully informed on policy changes
✅ We will pay our casual employees for sick leave to allow them the security to remain at home if they are unwell and not compromise community safety.
✅ We are investigating online consultations using our existing software and technology solutions and making contingency plans for possible future public health measures including shutdowns
❓ If you have any concerns, would like something wiped down, or would like to discuss how we are proactively dealing with the outbreak please just ask, your health and well-being is our main priority.
????⚕️Stay informed and follow the advice given by public health authorities and your Doctor, not fringe loonies on social media.
☺️ Don’t become overly anxious, maintain a healthy diet, regular exercise and social connections where safe
NSW Health Recommendations
The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is the same way you would protect yourself from catching flu or other respiratory illness:
– clean your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol.
– cover your sneeze or cough with your elbow or with tissue.
– avoid close contact with people who are ill
– avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
– stay home if you are sick.
