How To Reopen Your Beauty Clinic Post Lockdown
Clinics that have survived the initial shock of COVID-19 may be considering reopening after lockdown is eased- but how should they gain customers trust and operate in a whole new business environment? Whether your operations are already greatly affected, or the impacts are yet to be felt, a business continuity plan is essential to ensure you can be as resilient as possible in this global health crisis.
We spoke to Hamish McNair, Director of Clinical Operations at Candela Medical, who provides some tips to assist businesses in weathering COVID-19, in order to focus on things you can control.
Prepare the clinic before patients arrive
Before you allow a patient to visit, it is important to know which of your patients are at higher risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19. Consider and plan for providing more telemedicine appointments and stay connected with your health department to know about COVID-19 in your community. This is the time to assess and restock supplies now and on a regular schedule.
Communicate with patients before they arrive
As well as communicating with your employees, effective communication with your patients and suppliers is key. Make sure you ask patients about symptoms during reminder calls and consider rescheduling non-urgent appointments. Ask delivery drivers to call upon arrival and leave items outside the office instead of entering the reception area. The new rules should be clearly displayed in your clinic so ensure you post signs at entrances and in waiting areas about prevention actions.
Prepare the waiting room and patient areas
Good hygiene will keep your employees and patients healthy, ensuring your clinic continues to run. Essential supplies to provide include tissues, alcohol-based hand rub, soap at sinks, and trash cans. Place chairs 1–3 meters apart and use barriers (like screens), whenever possible. If your office has toys, reading materials, or other communal objects, remove them or clean them regularly.
Place staff at the entrance to ask patients about their symptoms
A 2m distance will not always be possible, so you should do everything in your power to reduce the transmission risk. Take the patients’ temperature as soon as they enter the clinic and limit non-patient visitors. Creates spaces to allow your patients to wait outside or in the car, if possible.
After patients are assessed
After patients leave, clean frequently touched surfaces using EPA-registered disinfectants. This includes counters, beds, seating etc. It is also important to reinforce handwashing procedures and other sanitising methods to limit virus exposure.
At the end of each clinic day
At the end of each clinic day, wipe all common high-touch areas, including but not limited to:
- Examination room: countertop, examination beds/tables, doorknobs, and examination light buttons/handles, chairs including arm rests and taps if used.
- Reception and offices: all countertop / surfaces and chairs including arm rests
- Bathroom: all bathroom surfaces and toilets, kitchen/break room: all surfaces
- Rubbish bins: empty all bins, then use cleaning cloths to wipe the inside and outside of the bin thoroughly
