Mental Health

ALERT

If you have a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath, please do not enter the Medical Centre.

Please phone our staff prior to entry for further clarification.

Please contact us via phone prior to making a booking or visiting the medical centre.

 SURGICAL (fabric masks no longer accepted) are an ESSENTIAL condition of entry.

“So that we can accommodate patients unable to wear a mask at the practice, and so as to also address the risk that unmasked patients pose to staff / other patients / other practice attendees, this will be our policy going forwards in such circumstances:

–          If a consultation can be conducted by tele-health, we will aim to facilitate this

 

–          If a consultation requires face to face attendance, then we require the patient to provide evidence of a negative Covid PCR swab result within the last 48 hours of any attendance, (you might want to change this to something about an RAT) so as to reduce the risk to our staff, and other persons at the practice, of Covid-19 transmission.

 

–          We will adjust the consultations to minimise the risk of cross transmission to staff and other patients, which may mean that consultations are only offered at the beginning or end of consultation periods, and with available staff where the consultation does not pose a risk to them.

 

–          We will need the patient to confirm that they have no respiratory symptoms (cough / fever / runny nose / muscle aches and pains / phlegm), and confirm that they have not travelled to a Covid hotspot or been in contact with a confirmed or suspected Covid-positive person, before the patient attends. If patients have such symptoms or contacts, they will likely not be able to attend the practice in person, and review in an appropriate facility (e.g. hospital ED) may need to be arranged.

Please understand that this risk management approach is based on the risks posed by persons attending the practice who are not able to wear a mask, not because of any underlying illness that the person might have. Our approach to minimise face to face contact between people unable to wear a mask and others at the practice remains the same. Our policy does not require a patient to disclose why they are unable to wear a mask, although we note that you have chosen to declare this to us in any case. Our approach aligns with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s COVID-19 infection prevention and control risk management, particularly transmission based precautions.

If this arrangement is not acceptable to you, you will need to find a practice which is able to accommodate your needs within their own risk assessments, policies and obligations.”