Hygiene Measures and FAQ's

Mask wearing - what are the rules in clinic?

I have a cold/bug, and I have a booked appointment, what should I do?

At Tonic Acupuncture we take your health protection very seriously. The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) (the professional body that we are both members of) have set their current safety guidelines, some of these are as follows;-

The current guidance (June 2022) from BAcC states that practitioners and patients must risk asses each patient. Checking the vulnerability and susceptibility to infections and individually assess if mask wearing is required.

The practitioners have made the decision to make mask wearing optional.

If you feel you are vulnerable and would still prefer to wear a mask during your treatment, then please attend with a mask on. Your practitioner will copy you and wear a mask if you attend with a mask on

Masks will still be available at the bottom of the stairs for your use.

First and foremost, please do a lateral flow test, even if your symptoms are mild. If this is negative, then continue reading -

If you have a cold or any other type of bug/virus - Please check with your practitioner as soon as you get sick. Please DO NOT wait until the day of your appointment to contact. I know you will be hoping the bugs may go away before your session, but early notice of potential cancellation is better. We can look to the waiting list we may have for that day.

When you contact your practitioner, they will assess the risk to other patients if you attended your appointment. If you are invited to attend for your appointment, then you will be asked to wear a mask and your Practioner will also wear a mask too. Please also be very good with your hand cleaning and use hand sanitiser frequently.

Acupuncture can help the body fight off bugs much quicker, so your practitioner will try to accommodate you in clinic where possible, so do email in if you start feeling unwell before your appointment.

I have tested positive for COVID

Are you doing anything else to help prevent the spread of COVID?

If you have an appointment coming up in the next 7 days, please look to cancel/reschedule this appointment ASAP.

You can do this through your appointment confirmation email - look for the Edit Appointment link. Please do this as soon as you test positive. Whilst we are not charging for late cancellation fees for Covid reasons, if you have known for several days before cancelling, then we will reserve the right to charge you a late cancellation fee.

If you have attended for an appointment within 24 hours of your symptoms starting and then testing positive, please inform your practitioner ASAP. They will then be able to wear a mask and lateral flow test each day to ensure they are reducing a potential to spread the virus.

Absolutely, YES. These are steps that are now in place forever.

We still regularly cleaning down surfaces such as the treatment couches, chairs, door handles with a hospital grade sanitisation wipe and sprays.

The toilet area still has these wipes available for you to use before sitting on the toilet seat, should you wish. Please do not flush down the toilet, put in the bin after.

We, as we did prior, will continue to wash our hands before and after touching a patient.

There will always be hand sanitisers and sinks available for our patients to use.

We will continue to provide you with a IIR surgical mask if you wish to wear one and have forgotten to bring your own.

Your feedback is always appreciated. If there is anything that you feel could be done better, please speak up. Please feel free to email Sandra the clinic owner. (click the underlined text)