Updated 4th November 2022 in accordance with updated government guidelines.
Mandurah & Pinjarra Clinics
We have taken strong, proactive measures to ensure that a visit to 4 Life is safe. This requires our patients, staff and leadership to all come together to minimise our impact on others. On 4th November the Western Australian Government has implemented updated COVID transition directions, so our policies have been updated.
From Friday 4 November, the COVID-19 directions issued under the Emergency Management Act 2005 and Public Health Act 2016, including the face mask directions and the COVID-19 vaccination directions will cease.
This will mean that there will be no mandatory COVID-19 requirements in WA from that time, though healthcare facilities and businesses may implement their own health and safety policies should they choose to.
Basic public health advice such as mask-wearing as needed, staying home if unwell, getting tested and avoiding high-risk settings until symptoms have cleared are still highly recommended.
There continues to be sustained community transmission of COVID-19. Please read through the lower sections to see all the efforts being made to ensure the safety of your visit. This information is in two sections - firstly what we ask of patients attending our clinic and secondly a summary of our efforts to ensure your visit is safe.
Patient Appointment Attendance
1. Close Contacts or Diagnosed Persons A Close contact is a household or household-like contact, or intimate partner of a person with COVID-19 who has had contact with them during their infectious period. Despite the easing of COVID Testing and Isolation rules in the community, restrictions still apply for high-risk settings. To protect those most at risk from COVID-19, for 7-days after becoming a close contact or diagnosed person:
· You must not visit public hospitals; and
· You should avoid visiting high-risk settings including disability, mental health and aged care residential facilities and health care settings (e.g. private hospitals, ambulance services, GP clinics, physiotherapy.)
2. Persons with Symptoms of an Influenza-like Illness If you have a fever, or you are in the active stage of an infection (eg. cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose or nasal congestion), or loss of smell or taste, please do not attend our clinic and instead call to reschedule your appointment.
3. Mask Wearing No Longer Mandated The wearing of masks is no longer mandated when attending our clinics. Patients, staff and visitors are free to choose whether or not they would like to continue to wear a mask in the clinic. As per health advice, we encourage those in high risk populations to continue to do so. If you would prefer your therapist to wear a mask during your consult, then please feel free to let reception and/or your therapist know, and we would be happy to assist with this.
4. Gym & Pilates Studio Attendance (Proof of Vaccination) In accordance with the WA State Government requirements, from Monday 2 May 2022, proof of COVID-19 vaccination is no longer required to attend our on-site Gym & Pilates studios, including all exercise classes. It is a requirement that all gym and pilates participants clean the equipment after each use. Appropriate cleaning products are supplied.
5. Limit Visitor Attendance To limit the venue capacity and improve social distancing, where possible please attend your appointments on your own. Where this is not practical (eg. translator, carer, support person, treatment of a minor, etc.) it is preferred that one additional carer/support person attends the appointment. It is not desirable to have whole family units attending appointments during this time.
6. Bring your own Towel Our treatment tables have an Antimicrobial Barrier applied that will make the whole surface antiviral and antibacterial. For your comfort, please bring along a towel to your appointment if you will find the vinyl uncomfortable. All Gym & Pilates studio users will also require their own towel for personal use.
7. Contactless Payments We kindly request that payments be made by card. To assist in our hygiene measures please avoid payment in cash at this time.
What is 4 Life Doing Differently?
4 Life continues to lead the industry in regard to the proactive approach we are taking to protect our staff and patients from COVID-19. Just some of the measures we have taken include:
1. Antimicrobial Barrier Application 4 Life has sourced a specialty Enzymatic sanitising spray to control the spread of COVID-19. Applied with an electrostatic sprayer, the formula effectively kills 99.99% of germs, viruses and bacteria and creates a long-lasting nano barrier that protects surfaces for up to 30-days, even with regular cleaning. This formula has been applied to all commonly contacted surfaces such as treatment tables, visitor chairs, door handles, face cushions and so forth.
2. Air Filtration Throughout our Mandurah and Pinjarra Clinics, you will see that we are utilising 35 Medical Grade (HEPA) air filters. These are located in all common areas and treatment rooms. This significantly improves ventilation and fresh air supply throughout the clinics. HEPA Air Filters provide the highest level of filtration available, certified at 99.97% viral filtration efficiency.
3. Hand & Personal Hygiene Hand Hygiene is the most effective way to protect against infections and includes both regular hand washing and applying alcohol-based hand sanitiser. 4 Life will provide Hand Sanitiser for all patients and staff to use whilst at our facilities In addition, 4 Life has sourced a long-lasting hand sanitising formula that retains a nano-coating skin surface protection for up to 24-hours, even with regular hand washing routines and daily activity. Our staff are applying this twice per shift, in addition to regular hand washing and sanitising between patients.
4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) All staff at 4 Life are provided with the necessary PPE to safely perform their work. In accordance with the National Guidelines provided by the Department of Health, our therapists have P2 Respirator masks, clear safety glasses, gloves, gowns and other PPE available for use as needed (for example if treating a jaw or face problem).
5. Increased Cleaning and Disinfecting Efforts In addition to the abovementioned antimicrobial barrier application, 4 Life will use antiviral cleaning sprays between all patients and at common touchpoints around the clinic.
6. Reduction of Soft Finishings At 4 Life we like to provide the "nice extras" such as the daily newspaper, current magazines, soft terry-towelling on our treatment tables, and a mentos mint on the way out. Unfortunately, these and other similar finishings will not be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to reduce vulnerabilities in our cleaning and sanitation efforts. We recommend that you bring your own towel to your appointment for comfort.
7. Laundry Sanitiser All linen that is used at 4 Life will be sanitised during the cleaning processes with products proven to eliminate 99.9% of germs.
8. COVID-19 Testing. 4 Life will follow the "Work Permissions and Restrictions Framework for Workers in Health Care Settings" and "COVID Transition (Testing and Isolation) Directions (No 12)" documents provided by the Department of Health and undergo COVID-19 testing in accordance with this document. In accordance with these documents, in some circumstances, our staff may attend work whilst being a close contact of a diagnosed case where they are asymptomatic and undergo daily pre-shift RAT testing.
9. COVID-19 Vaccination All staff at 4 Life are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Finally, please be assured that 4 Life takes the health and wellbeing of our clients, patients and participants very seriously. All of the above measures, and many others, are taken not to raise alarm, but rather to provide comfort to our staff and visitors that our clinic is a leader in healthcare provision and a safe choice for your allied health needs.
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