ICOM Acupuncture Clinic is open again!

In this short video, Director of Clinic Sarah Major explains the new safety procedure for appointments at our clinic. You’ll see some changes, but the warm welcome you will receive remains unchanged. More safety information is below, and you can find details of booking on our new clinic website at icomclinic.org

Before your appointment

You will receive an email confirmation of your appointment which contains some questions relating to symptoms. Please reply with your answers prior to your appointment.

For social distancing reasons, unless you require assistance for specific support and care needs, we ask you to come alone for the appointment where possible unless a chaperone, parent or carer is required. Please leave accessory items (bags and coats) in the car, or travel with as little as possible.

We are recommending that patients wear ordinary surgical masks to the clinic. You may bring your own or ask your practitioner to provide one for you upon entering the clinic. They are available to purchase for a small fee which covers costs only. You may of course use your own PPE, but we will expect you to maintain the highest possible levels of infection control.

Where possible, it is recommended that you have a telephone consultation with your practitioner prior to your appointment. Your practitioner will make contact with you if they opt to do this, otherwise they will take information from you on arrival. This is to minimise contact time face to face and is important for your practitioner to establish if there are reasons that it may not be appropriate to treat you at that time.

You will be asked if you have been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with CORONAVIRIS or experienced any of the following symptoms themselves in the previous 14 days:

  • Fever
  • New or persistent cough 
  • Loss of taste or smell

Please help us to remain safe and healthy by respecting the Government guidelines. If you or someone you live with develops symptoms of Covid-19 by the time of the appointment, please contact us before attending the clinic.

We are now using the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app. QR codes for checking into the clinic are available at the entrance and exit doors. If you’re not already using it, you can download the app here. 

In the eventuality that any practitioner gets symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours of having close contact with you during the appointment and then later test positive, we are obligated under law to provide your name, phone number or email and the date and time of your visit to the test and trace service. Please note that by attending the appointment you give consent for this.

If you are arriving by car

On arrival at the clinic please park at the far end of the car park and remain in your car until your practitioner collects you. If you have a face mask or any other PPE, please wear this at all times when on site.  Please either text your practitioner (if you have their number) or call the reception on 01342 313106 to announce your arrival.

Your practitioner will be notified and will collect you when they are ready. If you do not have a mobile phone, please wait in your car until your practitioner is ready to collect you. We will be staggering the start times for patients’ appointments and allocating plenty of time both for each consultation and also to allow thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the rooms between patients.

If you are arriving on foot

Please make your way through the first car park to the waiting area outside of the main building. This will either be the marquee on the lawn or in the Garden Room (the wooden structure to the right of main building). There will plenty of signage to direct you to the right place. Please either text your practitioner (if you have their number) or call the reception on 01342 313106 to announce your arrival. Your practitioner will be notified and will collect you when they are ready. If you do not have a mobile phone, please wait until your practitioner is ready to collect you.

We will be staggering the start times for patients’ appointments and allocating plenty of time both for each consultation and also to allow thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the rooms between patients. While you wait for your practitioner, we ask you to practice safe social distancing, being conscious of others who might also be waiting.

Your appointment

When your practitioner has collected you, you will enter the clinic with them through the white glazed clinic doors opposite the far car park. Please DO NOT enter the clinic or reception on your own.  Signage, posters, tape and floor stickers will be in place to assist your movement through the building and to increase awareness of everyone in the clinic. It is important that you maintain 2-metre distancing for as much of the consultation as is reasonably possible. The only exception to this is with your practitioner who will let you know when it is appropriate to approach under two metre and for how long.

Please wash your hands immediately upon entering the clinic. You will be directed to the appropriate facilities. There will be a poster nearby to demonstrate handwashing techniques recommended by the NHS. Please also wash your hands before leaving the clinic.

If you need to sneeze or cough while in the clinic, please do so into a disposable tissue and throw it away immediately. Please wash your hands immediately after doing so.

At the end of your appointment

Following your appointment, payment will be taken by your practitioner, either by card machine, BACs payment or cash (please bring the exact money to avoid unnecessary handling of cash). Any future bookings will be made by your practitioner.

We would ask you not to linger at reception, which will be blocked off from the corridor and to leave via the front main door (reverse flow to normal).  If there is anything urgent or specific that you might need to speak to reception about, please consider telephoning any enquiries as a preference. This will ensure the receptionist safety and limit their exposure to patients. Receptionists primary function at this time will be to take enquiries and bookings by phone and to provide administrative support to the practitioners.

Over 70s and vulnerable people

Please be aware that we will be recommending that the over 70s and vulnerable people should not visit the clinic, but we will rely on our practitioners’ discretion and professional judgement about who they will treat. Please respect that our practitioners are highly-trained professionals who will make a judgement on treating in the interests of safety. We will insist that vulnerable patients sign a disclaimer in advance of their treatment.