Hello MCP Clients
The long wait is over. We have finally been given permission to reopen and start providing essential care in-clinic. The Ministry of Health have outlined a number of regulations for health facilities to follow. We will be opening next week, Monday June 1st, as we have worked hard to be in accordance with these regulations. In order to accommodate the physical distancing measures and minimize patient crossover, we will be operating under a very different schedule for the next few months.
What will we be doing differently?
- Our therapist’s days and treatment times have changed so that only 3 treating therapists are in the clinic at one time.
- We are scheduling 10 minutes in-between appointments to allow for proper cleaning following an in-person visit.
- Therapists are required to wear at minimum a medical grade mask and face shield / eye protection to treat patients in close contact. We realize we are in close contact with many of our patients during an appointment so we will also be wearing gowns to provide and extra layer of protection for both client’s and the staff.
- Reception staff will be wearing a medical grade mask and eye protection.
- We have installed plexi-glass barriers at the front desk
- Staff are required to follow hand washing protocols set by the Ontario ministry of Health
- Patient contact areas are cleaned after every appointment
- Frequent cleaning of other contact areas (Bathrooms, waiting areas, door handles, reception desk) following public health guidelines.
Your responsibilities as a client are as follows:
- You will be required to fill out a pre-appointment screening questionnaire. (this is mandatory from the ministry of health) We cannot treat you if you have not filled this out before each appointment. The questionnaire is automatically generated by our appointment scheduling system, sent to you via email and when complete becomes part of your health record. If you do not have access to the digital survey we will ask you the questions when you arrive at the clinic. Staff are completing the same questionnaire each day before they come to work.
- If you are experiencing any symptoms of respiratory illness we will not be able to treat you on that given day and we will recommend you contact your family physician or the regional COVID assessment center for further guidance.
- The cost of personal protective equipment has gone up exponentially. We have a limited supply of medical grade masks. We are encouraging clients to bring their own mask to their appointment to help conserve our supply so we can continue to provide inpatient care over the next few months. Homemade fabric masks are acceptable. We will also have some cloth masks available for sale if you would like one. ($5.00 – Our cost)
- Arrival time: please arrive no more than a 2-3 minutes prior to the start of your appointment, in order to reduce patient crossover and time in the waiting room. Please do not be late for your scheduled appointment, as this will be very difficult to accommodate under the physical distancing, guidelines that have been mandated for us to follow.
- Caregivers/family/friends: We are encouraging everyone to attend their physiotherapy appointments alone, when able, as this will reduce the number of individuals in the clinic at once, help reduce possible exposures for all, and help maintain physical and social distancing regulations. Anyone who is attending with you, are encouraged to wait in the car, or outside the clinic when able.
- Please wear your mask when you enter the clinic. There will be hand sanitizer available for you to use before entering the clinic. There is also a hand washing station located in the bathroom. I encourage you to watch these very short videos on proper hand washing tips.
How to Hand Rub: https://youtu.be/sDUJ4CAYhpA
How to Hand Wash: https://youtu.be/o9hjmqes72I
We will be in the clinic on Friday May 29th in the afternoon answering phone calls for booking appointments over the next two weeks. We are going to limit booking to one month at a time. As things improve we will be changing our schedule to accommodate seeing more people in the coming months. We are focusing on performing the required treatments that need to be done in clinic. We will still be offering virtual care for new assessments, exercise progression, and for clients not comfortable with coming to the clinic at this time. If you have any questions please let us know.
Over the weekend we will be answering emails and doing our best to accommodate all requests for treatment over the next two weeks. We promise we will get back to you over the weekend to get you scheduled for at least one appointment.
Some of you have appointments that had been booked in advance. We will be reaching out to each of you individually as some of those appointments may have to move to a different day or time based on the new hours each therapist is working. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may create.
With adhering to careful precautions and maintaining proper physical spacing in the clinic we are confident we can provide a safe environment for you to receive your physiotherapy care. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to let us know.
