Debbie Even though medical offices have always been cognisant of the need to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, it is much more of a concern since the onset of the global pandemic, Covid-19. The medical community has actually learned a lot about how to protect their patients based on what we found regarding the spread of viruses during that time. Many of these procedures are now being introduced into the waiting rooms of medical offices around the world and in the UK, the only difference is just how seriously they take these matters. If you are an office administrator for a healthcare facility in the UK, here is some of what you can do to prevent the spread of germs.
1. Disposable Exam Room Curtains
Unlike hospitals that have state of the art laundry rooms, most clinics maybe have a single washing machine located somewhere in the back of the building. You could save yourself and your employees a bunch of work whilst preventing the spread of germs to some great degree by ordering disposable curtains from a site like medical-supermarket.com. These are simply thrown away with other toxic materials, in those red bins, and discarded each and every night. There is no need to worry about anyone coming behind the previous patient being exposed to body fluids.
2. Provision of Face Masks at Front Desk
Most, if not all, doctors’ offices are now providing free face masks at the front desk where patients check in for their appointment. One thing you can do to stay a few steps ahead of the norm is to provide individually wrapped face masks so that no on touches anything but the mask they will be wearing. They may cost a bit more but the savings in healthcare services (and lives!) is significant.
3. Hand Sanitiser Readily Available
Here again, there were always doctors’ offices that had hand sanitiser available pre-covid in several areas of the waiting room and within the restrooms. Now you will find an even greater number of doctors who are having hand sanitising dispensers more readily available. Many prefer touchless models with an electronic eye that reads a hand running under the dispenser and so there is no need to touch the device at all.
4. Distance Waiting Room Chairs
One last thing you will find would be chairs being spaced at safe distances now. Before, because of the huge number of patients waiting to be seen, chairs had you seated shoulder to shoulder with other patients. In an effort to keep the spread of illnesses to a minimum, you will find a growing number of waiting rooms with chairs spaced at distances recommended by WHO.
These are all things you can do in your medical office to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases, and much to the contrary of public opinion, Covid-19 is not yet over. Recently China had a significant, if not publicised, outbreak and a large number of cases are still being reported worldwide. What you choose to do in your medical facilities can have a huge impact on stopping the spread of communicable diseases, some of which many people are unaware of to this day. What you do in this regard could save tens of thousands of lives. That’s a fact.
