Covid-19 Response
To ensure the safety of both patients and therapists, the following protocols have been put in place to protect and keep you safe.
Enhanced Cleaning
- Additional time has been scheduled between patients to allow for thorough cleaning of the treatment rooms.
- Visibly soiled surfaces will be cleaned followed by disinfection with a Canada Health Approved for use against Covid-19 disinfectant.
- Common areas will be cleaned and disinfected throughout the day.
- All high touch surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected between patients, regardless of appearances
Personal Protective Equipment
- The therapist will wear a face mask at all times while working with a patient.
- The therapist’s face mask will be changed in-between appointments.
- Patients are required to wear a clean face mask that does not have an exhalation valve in the clinic at all times.
- If patients have their own fabric face mask, they are requested clean it prior to use, and to arrive at the clinic wearing it.
- If patients do not have a fabric face mask, a single-use non-medial mask will be provided at the time of their treatment.
Physical Distancing
Reception Area / Entry into Clinic Space
- The therapist is the only other person who will be within the clinic space throughout the duration of the patient’s appointment.
- The therapist and the patient will both maintain a space of 2 meters (6 feet) distance between each other in all clinic areas that are outside the treatment room.
- The fabric furniture have been removed; they may be replaced by vinyl-covered chairs that are separated by a minimum of 6f
- Patients are not permitted to lounge in the clinic reception area before or after the treatment.
- Nothing remains in the clinic space that cannot be disinfected after each touch.
- Appointment times are scheduled to reduce the potential of patients crossing paths, and to allow for time in-between sessions for enhanced cleaning.
- Patients are asked to arrive on time and not early or late for appointments.
- The clinic door will be opened for the patient by the therapist. The clinic door will be re-opened by the therapist at the end of the appointment for the patient to leave without touching the door knob.
Self-Assessment for Symptoms of Covid-19: For Patients & Therapists
Pre-Screening / Prior to Arrival
- Patients will be informed about their responsibilities at the time of booking. A notice will be placed on the website, and the online booking software will send them a copy of these protocols as part of a Covid-19 specific consent form they will be required to sign electronically, prior to arriving at their appointment.
- One day prior to their booked appointment, the patient will be required to complete the online BC COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment tool and to stay home if they experience any symptoms of Covid-19.
- The therapist will use the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment tool herself, daily and commits to canceling all appointments if symptoms appear.
- An appointment must be cancelled immediately if either the patient or the therapist presents with even mild symptoms that may be signs of Covid-19 including:
- Fever
- Cough
- Chills
- Shortness of breath
- Sore throat or pain with swallowing
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Loss of sense of smell
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Covid-19 Symptoms may range from mild to severe. Patients are required to cancel appointments if they experience symptoms on the day of their appointment.
- Patients must confirm that they have not been in contact with anyone displaying illness, or signs and symptoms of Covid-19 within 14 days prior to their treatment.
- The patient will be required to sign (electronically) a consent and liability waiver with respect to Covid-19 prior to every appointment.
- As a part of the consent form, patients must commit to understanding that while we’ve taken all possible measures to minimize risk of viral transmission, the nature of massage therapy means that physical distancing is not possible in the treatment room.
- The therapist and patient must agree that the therapeutic benefit of massage therapy outweighs any potential consequence of treatment, including the possibility of viral transmission.
- Patients who develop even mild illness or symptoms must cancel booked appointments, even without notice. They will not be charged a late cancellation fee if they cancel due to illness.
For more information about covid-19, please see the British Columbia provincial website here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/response
Informed Consent
In the current environment of Covid-19 risk, informed consent requires that the patient be informed and understands that:
- Any massage therapy treatment involves some risk of Covid-19 transmission;
- The therapist is following protocol to help reduce or mitigate risk where possible, but that risk cannot be reduced to zero;
- The patient consents to the treatment despite some risk; And the RMT will document the patient’s consent in advance and at every treatment.
