31st March 2020 – YES WE ARE OPEN
We appreciative the support of our amazing patients. If you know of anyone suffering from foot or ankle pain, we would appreciate you recommending them to us.
The most recent government advice is as an Essential Service, we are encouraged to be open as it helps reduce strain on the state health system. Also that if you are over 70, you should stay isolated, unless for attending medical/Podiatry appointments. We encourage you to keep your Podiatry appointments but call us should you need to cancel or reschedule any appointments.
At Healthy Life Foot Clinic, the health and well-being of you our patients, team and broader community is always at the forefront of our commitment to healthcare.
The current Corona virus (COVID-19) situation is affecting all of us in one way or another so I just wanted to take a moment of your time to ease your mind about your ongoing care in our clinics.
What Are We Doing?
We pride ourselves on already having comprehensive and strict hygiene and infection control procedures in place for the safety of our patients, team and community.
We however have taking additional precautions:
- we ask that every visitor to the clinics uses hand sanitiser when they arrive and also when they leave
- we are leaving doors open so only our team are touching door handles
- each team member has undertaken specific COVID-19 government training to prevent infection
- our cleaners have been advised to be even more attentive with their weekly cleaning practices (this is additional to all the daily tasks our team are taking to create a clean environment)
- all our team have completed hand washing training
- we practice social distancing by maintaining 1.5 metre spacing between patients and our team but also not shaking hands. We will give you an elbow tap and a warm smile though 🙂
- we have removed all of our up to date magazines to reduce the risk of cross infection
- We have removed cups for our water dispenser and lollies/treats to reduce cross infection
We are daily monitoring and receiving updates from our national body (Australian Podiatry Association) as well as from state and federal governments. We are communicating with our team on a daily basis on these issues to continue to provide a safe environment. We are also regularly posting up dates to our website and social media pages.
Your foot health and your ability to stay active, health and happy is our number one priority and we are doing everything possible to continue to provide the very best levels of foot care.
Questions:
1. Are you still open and can I make an appointment?
Yes we are still open and yes you can make appointment’s.
Podiatry is considered an “Essential Service” which means the government is encouraging us to stay open. Why is that important? For our health system to continue to function in this difficult time, it needs all areas of health to be open. GP clinics are struggling to manage at the moment and not having Podiatry clinics open would place even more pressure on GP’s and therefore the hospital system.
We will continue to provide high levels of care and go above and beyond to help you. Appointments can be made by calling either our Burnside (8333 2022) or Woodville (8445 8680) clinics or you can book online by clicking HERE.
2. What if I can’t come into the clinic because I want to minimise contact with others as much as possible?
We understand the very real concerns people have at the moment. It is important however that if it is safe for you, please try to keep active and healthy.
If you can’t come into the clinic, we can help in two ways:
– we can provide home visits if required. We are not charging any more for this service than what you would normally pay to visit the clinic. We will take all the required precautions regards hygiene. If you are unwell though, been in contact with anyone diagnosed or suspected of having COVID-19, or you have recently travelled overseas, we will not be able to provide this service without a clearance from your GP.
– we can provide on-line Podiatry consultations (tele-health) if you are self-isolating or can not come into the clinic. This is in the media a lot at the moment as GP’s have been encouraged to provide on-line services where that is possible. This is a great way to help keep you healthy and moving and many problems can be assessed and managed this way. It is a simple process and we can talk you through how to do this.
For further information on home visits or online consultations, contact either clinic and our wonderful Admin team will look after you.
3. I have lost my job and struggling financially but need to see you. Can you help in anyway?
This is a very tough time for many people and we are all experiencing the effects of this virus. We are very aware of this as a small business and have already seen the effect on our business being quieter. So we understand and are sympathetic to those who have lost their job.
If you have financial difficulties, please call us to discuss what options we can provide to help you access our services and still receive care.
What else can we do to help?
Many of our patients are older, no longer able to drive and don’t have family easily able to help them. You may be even encouraged to isolate for health reasons by your family or GP. We care about not just your feet but you as a person and realise to get through this time, we need to support and care for each other more than ever.
So, we quite seriously want to help in other ways. If you are isolated and unable to get to the shops, we would be happy to grab a few items and drop them on your door step. We want you to know we care and if a small thing like this would make your life easier, please again call our Admin team and they will see how we can help, and make your day a little brighter. We are each stronger when we support each other.
What else can you do to help?
If you are currently experiencing any of the following:
1. symptoms such as fever, a cough or shortness of breath
2. have been in contact with someone with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19
3. you have recently travelled overseas
Then please contact our team prior to your visit on 8333 2022 (Burnside) or 8445 8680 (Woodville).
If you would like any further information, visit the Australian Governments health website by clicking HERE.
Further information specific to us can be found on our website by clicking HERE and to keep up to date with any changes, go to our Facebook page by clicking HERE and LIKE our page for any new announcements.
We are here to help keep you active, health and happy so if we can be of any assistance please contact us.
From all the team at Healthy Life Foot Clinic
– Mark, Jo, Rhys, Viv, Sarah, Jenette and Sonia
