COVID-19 Operating Policy

Effective July 22nd, 2022 at 8:00am the following policy will be put into effect:

  1. General:

– Clients may choose whether they’d prefer to wear a mask while inside the practice or not.

– If clients are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 they should alert staff at earliest possible time to allow for appropriate accommodation during appointments. Note: Masks may be required to be worn for specific cases at the discretion of staff.

–  We will allow a maximum of two people in the reception area at any given time.

– Clients may join their pet in the exam room for their scheduled appointment.

– Social distancing is still expected to be maintained.

– All staff are expected to wash hands or use approved hand sanitizer after each client engagement, patient exam and as needed.

2. Reception Area:

– The front door will be opened to the public.

– We will allow a maximum of two people (apart from staff) in the reception area at any given time.

– Clients will be encouraged to social distance by maintaining a distance of 6 feet between each other while waiting in the reception area by waiting in the appropriate floor markers.

– Signage will be placed respectfully requesting that clients who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine series please wear a mask while in attendance at our facility, due to the staff members present and client base we serve, that have pre-existing medical conditions placing them at heightened risk for severe outcomes due to exposure to COVID-19 and its emerging variants of concern.

– We will not require any proof of vaccine series, we will be basing this on the honour system.

– Hand sanitizer will be readily available and clients will be encouraged to sanitize hands upon entry by implementation of signage in exam rooms and in the reception area.

– Doors of exam rooms should be left open during portion of the exam that it is safe to do so. Once the pet has been removed from their carrier or if situation arises that warrants it, the door may be briefly closed.

– The items that are known to be “high traffic” (ie. Debit machine keypad, signature pad, door handles etc.) will all be sanitized using the approved clinic sanitizer at regular intervals throughout business hours.

– The caution tape restricting access to the area close to the reception desk will be removed to facilitate easy access to the exam room on the east side of the building.

– The desk that the debit machine pin pad and signature pad sit on will remain in place to encourage social distancing.

Workflow:

  1. a) Scheduled appointments (apart from surgical appointments) will be run as follows:
  • Client will be instructed to call the clinic when they arrive for their scheduled appointment.
  • Employee will usher the client into an exam room (leaving the door open)
  • The client will wait in the exam room during the pet’s weight check.
  • Employee will weigh the pet and return to exam room.
  • T-P-R and history will be taken in the exam room with the client.
  • The doors of the exam rooms will be left open while the patient is on leash/in crate unless it is unsafe to do so for the patient/staff/client.
  • Once the patient is brought outside their safety carrier or taken to the exam table the doors may be closed briefly for the assessment to occur.
  • The client is expected to remain in the exam room during the appointment.
  • Once the appointment is complete and the bill is ready for payment, the client can be ushered to the reception area.
  • All medication discussions, client education, client correspondence, scheduling of follow-up exams, should be done in the exam room.
  • The client should only be expected to stay in the reception area briefly to pay the bill.
  1. b) Walk-in appointments will accepted but will be treated as drop-off appointments to ensure we do not exceed our maximum capacity limit for the reception area.
  • Client history will be taken over the phone.
  • Client will wait outside in vehicle or will drop off for pet to stay with us (at owner’s cost of hospitalization fee).
  • Patient will be ushered to kennel and will be attended to as triaged by the RVT accepting the call.
  • Client will have telephone discussion with the veterinarian on plan for treatment.
  1. c) Surgical Appointments:
  • Client will call when they arrive to drop their pet off for the surgical appointment.
  • History can be taken over the phone or in person dependent on the number of clients waiting in reception area.
  • Discharge should preferably be scheduled at a time where there will be low traffic in the reception area or a time should be put into the schedule block to do the surgical discharge.

Preferably surgical discharge instructions and post-operative medication review along with setting up the Post-OE/OHE/Surgery MPE should be done in the exam room.

 

For any concerns or questions on COVID-19 and pet health, clients to call our veterinary hospital phone number 306 244 2815

 

Updates on COVID-19 pandemic could be accessed from this website by going on the homepage to Pet Health tab, then News.