These days, the primary thought at the forefront of many people’s minds — especially those who work in healthcare or medical facilities — is how you can keep yourself, your staff, and your patients safe from the coronavirus. While there is still so much uncertainty surrounding the virus and the specific manner in which it is transmitted from person to person, a few concrete facts have been solidified over the past months in regard to how one can stay relatively protected.
Such methods are incredibly important for those who run medical facilities to adopt. The last thing you want to have happen is for you to be unable to administer care to your patients because of the coronavirus. The fact of the matter is that even though the virus has created an unprecedented situation for many people, it isn’t the only medical issue that exists in the world today.
In order to be able to give your patients the medical care and attention they need while the pandemic continues to persist, here are a few things that you can do to help keep your facility protected against the Coronavirus.
Stock Up on Necessary Supplies
First and foremost, all the guidance from government officials and medical researchers suggests that wearing face masks is one of the best ways to protect yourself and others from the virus. However, you need to ensure that you and your staff are wearing such coverings properly. Moreover, there are some coverings out there that aren’t as effective as others at creating a barrier that the virus cannot pass through.
As a medical facility, you need to ensure that you and your workers are equipped with all of the Coronavirus Supplies that are necessary, starting with the right types of face coverings. Your staff should be well versed in how to properly wear their face coverings and they should know that they are always expected to be wearing them when they are present at the facility.
Other supplies that you are going to need include disinfecting wipes and specialist surface sprays, hand sanitiser, and, in some cases, disposable aprons. Surfaces should be sprayed routinely throughout the day and particularly when a patient has been in a specific room or area of your facility. Encourage all who enter your facility to use hand sanitiser upon entering and leaving to reduce the chances of transferring the virus.
Practice Social Distancing
Another piece of advice that has come highly recommended by the appropriate authorities is that social distancing should be practiced whenever individuals who are not of the same household interact. The general thought behind this is that you are less likely to breathe in traces of the virus from another person if you are not standing next to them.
Social distancing is going to look differently to medical facilities because doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will naturally need to be within a metre of their patients. That being said, this doesn’t mean that you can’t keep your patients and other staff socially distanced as a precaution.
Make sure that you limit the number of patients that you allow within your facility at one time. You should then block off seating or space out the chairs in your waiting areas so that people are not going to be sitting within six feet of one another. Many businesses and facilities have also found it helpful to place warning signs spacing stickers on the floor showing people how far apart they should be standing at all times, particularly when they are waiting in a queue.
Keep Patients Informed
One of the most valuable weapons against the spread of Coronavirus is information and education on the subject. With so much misinformation being shared over the last year, it is important that your patients have correct and current information at their disposal. Whenever you have a patient who is scheduled to come into the facility, make sure that they know the protocols that you have put in place.
You should provide them with up-to-date literature that they can read about the virus and what it means to their visit in the form of a pamphlet or brochure. Ensure that they are prepared to follow the guidelines that you have in place such as wearing a face covering and using hand sanitiser upon entering and exiting your facility. When everyone is informed and on the same page, defending against Coronavirus becomes a much simpler ordeal.
