SKM Psychology: COVID Safety Plan
Current as of - 1-Aug-2021
Introduction
This plan provides members of the practice team guidance on operating in a COVID-safe way, and helps identify and mitigate risks during the ongoing pandemic.
Purpose and objectives
Our practice is dedicated to the health, safety and wellbeing of all team members, clients, contractors and visitors. In this pandemic environment, we acknowledge additional precautions are required and that these are outlined in this COVID Safety Plan.
1. Practice access and patient flow
• encourage telehealth consultations (where appropriate)
• require all people entering the practice to don a face mask [patients are asked to bring their own, but will be supplied with one if they present without a mask]
• provide access to hand-hygiene products upon entry and exit (and at appropriate locations throughout the practice), such as an alcohol-based hand sanitiser and hand-washing facilities.
2. Physical distancing
Our practice will put in place physical distancing measure by:
• providing training to all members of the team
• provide 1.5 metres between psychologist and client during session
• minimising patient congestion in the waiting room by
- limiting the number of people on the premises at any one time
- spacing furniture in the waiting room
3. Use of personal protective equipment
Appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical in limiting the spread of COVID-19. All members of the practice team will:
• ensure standard precautions, including hand hygiene, cough etiquette and appropriate waste-management techniques, are maintained
• dispose of all used PPE in accordance with standard precautions.
4. Environmental management and cleaning
Our practice will regularly clean and disinfect shared spaces, surfaces and communal items. Our practice will:
· enhance air flow by opening windows and doors in shared spaces (where and when appropriate) and optimising fresh air flow in air conditioning systems (by maximising the intake of outside air and reducing or avoiding recirculation of air)
· minimise the volume of equipment in clinical areas and waiting rooms to reduce the cleaning burden and risk of transmission
· adhere to strict environmental cleaning as per the most current advice from the Department of Health’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Environmental cleaning and disinfection principles for health and residential care facilities or our local public health unit
· clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces with detergent and disinfectant wipe/solution
· provide training to all staff members on environmental cleaning requirements (this training will be documented)
5. Record-keeping
To aid contact tracing in the event a patient, team member, contractor or any visitor to the practice tests positive for COVID-19, our practice will:
· maintain a record of all patient appointments (including recording people accompanying the patient), team member work times, and contractors/visitors to the practice, including entry and exit times
· utilise a contactless electronic system to record contact details, ensuring data is stored confidentially and securely and is only used for the purpose for which it was intended
· maintain these records for a minimum of 28 days.
6. Practice team management and limiting interactions in closed spaces
To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission between practice team members, we will:
· regularly communicate with all team members regarding the requirement to not attend the practice if they have any symptoms consistent with COVID-19, regardless of how mild, and will encourage testing in line with local public health unit advice
· encourage physical distancing in common areas
· encourage tea breaks/lunchbreaks to be taken outside
· require all team members to thoroughly clean communal items (e.g., cutlery) immediately after use by washing with hot water and detergent
· ban the sharing of food on site
7. Responding to a positive case, or close contact, in the practice team
If a member of the practice team tests positive to COVID-19, our practice will:
• contact the local public health unit and follow their advice
• follow the direction of the local public health unit regarding cleaning of the practice
• ensure the team member does not return to the practice until they meet the criteria for release from isolation, and as instructed by the local public health unit
• assist the local public health unit in contact tracing by proving records of all patients, team members and visitors who have attended the practice during the period in which the team member was potentially infectious (as defined by the local public health unit).
Plan review
This plan will be reviewed regularly to ensure it reflects the current processes and procedures SKM Psychology Pty. Ltd., as well as current legislation requirements and public health directives. The plan will be reviewed on or before 1-Oct-2021.
Public health unit contacts
State/territory
Public health unit contact
Australian Capital Territory
02 5124 9213 (business hours) 02 9962 4155 (after hours)
New South Wales
1300 066 055
Northern Territory
08 8922 8044 1800 008 002
Queensland
(07) 5667 3200
South Australia
1300 232 272
Tasmania
1800 671 738
Victoria
1300 651 160
Western Australia
08 6373 2222
Further resources
RACGP
• COVID-19 infection-control principles
• Managing patients who present with respiratory symptoms
• Responding to a COVID-19 case in the practice team
• How to don personal protective equipment
• How to remove and dispose of personal protective equipment
• Patient alert poster – Symptoms
• Patient alert poster – Masks
Federal Department of Health
• COVID-19 infection control training
• CDNA national guidelines for public health units
Safe Work Australia
• COVID-19 Information for workplaces
Disclaimer
The information set out in this publication is current at the date of first publication and is intended for use as a guide of a general nature only and may or may not be relevant to particular patients or circumstances. The RACGP and its employees and agents have no liability (including for negligence) to any users of the information contained in this publication.
© The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 2020
This resource is provided under licence by the RACGP. Full terms are available at www.racgp.org.au/usage/licence
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and seas on which we work and live, and pay our respects to Elders, past, present and future.
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