On July 1st, 2021, we transitioned to a Communicable Disease Prevention Plan (CDPP) from our previous COVID-19 Safety Plan as recommended by WorkSafeBC, our regulatory body (the College of Physical Therapists of BC), and the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) as businesses across the province shifted to Phase 3 of BC’s Restart Plan. Things were looking good, but then Omicron and it’s variants decided to show-up which further added to the challenge of reducing the spread of COVID-19.
As of April 6, 2022, Dr. Bonnie Henry has recommended the “continued use of medical masks by practitioners and patients/clients in medical offices, private practices and other settings when there is close, in-person patient/client contact.” We are also continuing with most of our previous COVID-19 Clinic Safety Protocols to ensure the continued safety of our clients, community, and clinic team. Accounting for variations in vaccination rates and dosages, the highly variable risks factors within our clientele (age, comorbidities, etc), and the potential for spikes in case numbers and/or spread of COVID-19 variants is important to us.
Please review the steps below that need to be followed before, during, and after each in-person appointment at our clinic. We are incredibly appreciative of your willingness to continue following these standards! We are almost there everybody 😀
— OUR CDPP APPOINTMENT PROTOCOL —
/// FORMS ///
WE STILL REQUIRE YOU TO COMPLETE A HEALTH SCREEN PRIOR TO ENTERING THE CLINIC. We will inform you of when this changes!
If you feel sick or unwell, please call (250.590.5840) or email (info(at)docksidephysio.com) us prior to your appointment to reschedule.
WE WILL NOT CHARGE YOU A LATE CANCELLATION OR NO-SHOW FEE IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
/// ARRIVAL AT THE CLINIC ///
OUR FRONT DOOR IS NOW UNLOCKED as we are not required to limit the number of people in our space. If this concerns you, don’t be alarmed as we don’t have a lot of people hanging around in common areas as it is.
If you will be arriving by bicycle, there are two racks at the front doors and one larger rack just off to the right (about 30 feet away) to park your bike. If you are seeing us for a BikeFit®, please bring your bike inside with you!
/// MASKS ///
Once you arrive, please ensure you are wearing a medical mask or ask a member of our team for one (free of charge). MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED at our clinic. All clients and members of our clinic team must wear a surgical/medical grade mask OR respirator (N95 or KN95 mask).
IF YOU HAVE A MASK, PLEASE ENSURE THAT IT IS ON AS YOU ENTER THE CLINIC. If you need a medical mask, there will be one waiting for you on a hanger immediately to your left as you enter through the the front doors at our hand sanitizing station. If you refuse to wear a mask, we will need to cancel or reschedule your appointment.
See our Face Mask Types and Usage page if you’d like more information, and check out this BCCDC infographic on how to properly put on, wear, and remove a face mask.
/// HAND SANITIZING/WASHING ///
Once you have entered the clinic, please stop at the hand sanitizing station and sanitize your hands. If we’re providing you with a mask, please sanitize your hands immediately AFTER putting on the mask.
If you would rather sing “Happy Birthday” twice while scrubbing your hands with warm water and soap, please let us know so we can assist you. We have some amazing vocalists on our team 🗣️🎶
/// RECEPTION/WAITING AREA ///
You won’t be standing in this area for long as we will continue to direct clients to their treatment rooms as quickly as possible to keep the number of people in the reception/waiting area to a minimum.
Please avoid touching any surfaces while waiting… which might be tough as we have a lot of neat things!
And sorry for removing all the magazines (they’ll be back soon!)
/// WASHROOM ///
We strongly encourage you to use your washroom at home or work prior to your appointment. If you do need to use the washroom, please let a member of our team know so that we can sanitize the washroom afterwards. If you want to be more discrete, you can use the secret phrase “twinkle toes” so we know 😉
/// BRINGING OTHERS TO YOUR APPOINTMENT ///
We are now allowing family, friends, or care aids to accompany you to your appointment, as long as they wear a mask and complete our quick verbal COVID-19 Screen at the door.
If you do plan on having another person with you, we kindly ask that you let our admin team know in advance so we have a medical mask ready for them if they need one.
/// DURING YOUR PHYSIO APPOINTMENT ///
Your physiotherapist will enter the room wearing a mask. If we normally shake your hand, we’ll do an air High-Five or elbow bump in place of it! The appointment itself will predominantly take place in the treatment room, but we will go into the gym space with you at times. All equipment is thoroughly sanitized after each use or quarantined for 3 days after use (i.e. resistance bands).
If we need to perform techniques that require close physical contact, we will wear a gown and we may ask you to do the same.
/// AFTER YOUR PHYSIO APPOINTMENT ///
Follow-up appointments will be booked by either your physiotherapist in the treatment room or at the front desk by a member of our admin team. At the front desk, we’ll confirm payment with you and determine if there is an amount owing. If your account is settled, you may go-ahead and exit the clinic.
/// PAYMENT ///
If there is an amount owing, we would greatly appreciate the use of contactless payment via credit/debit card tap, e-transfer, or Bitcoin transfer (yup, you read that right!) to settle your account. Payment type/methods will ideally be confirmed in advance of your appointment, and then charged the same way for each following appointment. You will receive an electronic receipt via email.
We are more than happy to continue accepting cash and cheques, but it’ll be a tad awkward. Without boring you, we’ll show how this works when you’re in the clinic. As such, we would greatly appreciate if you could utilize the payment methods mentioned above 👍
/// EXITING THE CLINIC ///
When you’re ready to leave, please dispose of your medical mask in the large mask recycling box to the right of the doorway You are free to sanitize your hands again if you wish.
/// THAT’S IT! ///
Thanks so much again for your cooperation! We appreciate your help as we continue to keep each other healthy and safe and approach normal life again! 😀
