All Australians are working with each other to help manage the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. At MermaidVet we are taking steps as part of this to help do our bit. COVID-19 has reached a stage where community transmission is occurring and the source of the transmission is not always evident. The quarantine periods and other advice given by the health department are for the benefit of all Australians and are aimed at reducing the load on the health system so everyone gets the care they need should they become ill. Recommendations as to how these precautions should be implemented are changing all the time and we will strive to provide an environment where we can continue to deliver the best possible patient care, while also looking after the health needs of our valued clients and staff members.
As such we will evolve our client experience to meet current recommendation. Current recommendations include social distancing as well as hand hygiene and avoidance of attendance if you are unwell in any way. Our nurses will work with you to set up a plan that allows us to treat your pet while reducing the risk of Coronavirus transmission for you and us.
The steps we have taken include:
Preliminary screening over the phone. If you are unwell, have had contact with someone with COVID-19 or have travelled overseas recently please tell us. We can still see your pet and give them the care they need. We would ask you to have a well friend, family member, dog sitter or Animal Ambulance bring your pet in. This person should not be someone who you have spent time with while affected. We will treat the pets with appropriate precautions to keep us and them safe. We can have a consultation with you over the phone and then give your pet the treatment it needs.
Email communication of current protocols. We may ask for your email address so we can send you information about the current protocols once your appointment is confirmed. Alternatively we may SMS you.
Reducing the amount of face to face time between our team members and clients. The health department recommends keeping close personal contact to less than 15 minutes. As such we will discuss the case with you but may perform parts of a physical examination with your pet in a separate area or use our staff to hold pets while keeping appropriate social distancing. We know you love your pets and we will care for them as we always do.
Asking people to avoid physical contact and practice social distancing. We all naturally want to shake hands as part of a greeting and it is a difficult habit to break, but current recommendations preclude this.
Frequently cleaning of commonly used services and areas. We will reduce any potential environmental contamination by cleaning with agents that have effect against corona viruses, particularly COVID-19. We have detailed cleaning protocols and use agents with high levels of proven efficacy based on external advice.
We ask you that only one family member brings your pet to our hospital. We are very happy to have other family members join the consultation by phone or video call. If wait times are prolonged and you would like us to admit your pet while you wait elsewhere, we are happy to do this. For the time being we are not allowing families to visit their pets in hospital, but we will happy to send photos of them to you. We will make an exception for euthanasia provided the person attending is well as we know that this is important to families.
In the near future:
We may need to split our staff into two groups to minimise any disruption to services associated with quarantine. We understand that many of you have a great relationship with our team who treat your pets. In the current circumstances, if one team member tests positive to COVID-19, then it is likely that those working closely with them will have to quarantine. If the whole clinic is affected then this will interrupt our ability to treat your pet. As such we have split our staff into two groups so that in the event of a quarantine, we can continue to offer services at that site. This will mean that we may have to do more communication over the phone as our vets will continue to work from home on the other days. While the vets and nurses are in the clinic, they will be there for a longer time to ensure all patients continue to receive the care they need. Please understand that this may mean that your pet will be looked after by different clinicians and nurses. This also means that some of our reception team will work from home each day to continue to receive your phone calls.
We are working on introducing the option of conducting consultations over the phone. This will mean faceless consultation. In most cases we will still require to see your pet for a physical examination but you do not have to enter the building or a friend could bring your pet on your behalf and we can discuss the consultation over the phone with you.