The following actions have occurred, in order to manage the risk in regards to the delivery of allied health services, during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Client, Therapist, and Administration education, via email, telephone, and face-to-face, continues to occur to ensure up to date, and current information, is understood and shared regarding:
– infection control procedures and guidelines;
– hand hygiene;
– use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE);
– effective screening/triage of staff and clients;
– service delivery options, including Telehealth.
Our Administration team is conducting screening questions via phone, prior to every scheduled client/therapist interaction. This process includes therapists conducting a follow-up questionnaire upon presentation with the client, to ensure no changes in the clients health or well-being have occurred – this includes rescheduling of any symptomatic clients until healthy, and referring for testing where appropriate.
All therapist are in possession of appropriate PPE packs, and understand their requirement and how to use them. Sourcing of these PPE items continues to occur, to ensure a stockpile is in place, to enable business continuity.
Telehealth services have been implemented, with procedures having recently been developed to ensure consistency in the delivery of services. This includes detailed education being conducted to assist with both therapist and client uptake, particularly with a view to prioritising this type of service delivery model.