We are still seeing patients but with important changes
Covid-19 and the Children's Eye Centre
We are open and able to see your child as long as some important changes to procedure are observed.
Appointments - what we are doing to ensure your safety:
1. All staff are observing strict hand washing protocols.
2. Orthoptists and ophthalmologists are wearing PPE as required by the physical contact that is necessary to assess your child.
3. Technical equipment is being thoroughly disinfected after each and every consultation.
4. You will notice a clear perspex window at reception and floor markings to indicate an appropriate place to stand with regard to social distancing.
5. Doors are left open wherever confidentiality allows us to.
6. Common areas are disinfected regularly throughout the day and thoroughly cleaned at the end of every day.
7. Staff have been split into two teams who work on different days.
8. Telehealth consultations are available for patients who are unable to attend because of direct risk of Covid-19 transmission (see below).
Appointments - what we are asking of you:
Firstly, we ask that neither your child nor yourself attend if you have ANY respiratory tract symptoms or if you have been overseas in the last two weeks. In these instances you should be following the government's instructions regarding self-isolation and should not attend your appointment. You may be asked to sign a consent form confirming your health and recent travel prior to being seen.
Secondly, we have introduced strict parent to patient ratios. Only ONE parent is allowed to attend per patient with NO siblings. We understand that this may be inconvenient but we are unable to make any exceptions.
Thirdly, patients are being asked to wait in their cars rather than the waiting room. Please advise reception upon your arrival and we will direct you to either enter the building or await a phone call letting you know it's your turn and to please enter the building. In between seeing the orthoptist, or sets of eye drops you will be asked to return to your car.
Fourthly, we are asking for patience. Due to being split into two teams we are only able to run a skeleton staff at any one time and as a result we may not be able to attend to your call or email immediately. We are implementing safety measures for the health of all patients, staff and their respective families and would appreciate that if you need to clarify any requirements, you do so in a respective way.
Surgery: Elective surgery is currently on hold at both public and private hospitals. It is still possible to be added to a public hospital waiting list, but no patients are being allocated dates until further notice (likely to be at least September). It appears that private surgery may be able to resume earlier but no bookings are being taken until we have confirmation of this. Patients who were booked but postponed will have first preference in terms of dates for rebooking. Jess Crippa, practice manager, manages the booking process for public and private surgery and you are welcome to contact her for clarification on 9896 4577 or office@childrenseyecentre.com.au.
Telehealth: Temporary item numbers have been introduced by Medicare for use at this time. Wherever possible we prefer to see patients face to face so that an optimum consultation be performed, however for patients who are unable to attend because of direct Covid risk, Telehealth is a possibility. You are welcome to speak to us if you think that may apply to you. Please note that it is very likely that you will still be required to attend a face to face consultation at a later time so that we can be assured of good vision and healthy eyes prior to being discharged. Patients will be required to have access to a computer with audio-visual capabilities plus access to either Zoom or Skype software. You will also need to consent to the consultation being bulk-billed, including supplying a new referral prior to consultation (where applicable).
