COVID-19 Safety Policy

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We at Autism Doctor would like to reassure our clients that we are following the national recommendations to keep you and your child safe during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

We have adopted the following to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

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Remote Consultation

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With technology, it is possible for us to offer certain types of appointments as teleconsultations. Some examples where teleconsultation has been used successfully are:

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• Initial appointment

• Follow up appointment

• Tele-ASD-PEDS

• BOSA (Brief observation of symptoms of Autism)

• ADI-R interview assessment

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It is possible for more than one member of the household to contribute to the teleconsultation

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Where teleconsultation is not possible and medical assessment is essential, we will offer face to face consultation in accordance with the latest Public Health England Guidance.

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Face to face Consultation

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Screening Questionnaires:

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Prior to face to face contact, we will ask you to complete screening questions regarding COVID-19 as per Public Health England Guidance

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These include if you or your child has any of the following:

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• New continuous cough

• High temperature

• A loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

• Influenza-like illness (fever ≥37.8°C and at least one of the following respiratory symptoms, which must be of acute onset: persistent cough (with or without sputum), hoarseness, nasal discharge or congestion, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing, sneezing

• A loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia) in isolation or in combination with any other symptoms

• New respiratory symptoms or fever without another cause or worsening of a pre- existing respiratory condition

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In addition we would ask if you or your child has:

• Been in contact with someone with any of the above symptoms in the last 14 days

• Been in contact with someone who has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in the last 14 days

• Been immunocompromised ( reduced immunity)

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If the answer to any of the above is yes our clinician will review the situation. We may request you to reschedule your face to face appointment to another time.

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Please contact us immediately if your child has the symptoms or is requested to self isolate anytime within 2 weeks prior to a face to face contact.

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Appointments

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Face to face appointments are reserved for essential medical assessment that cannot be processed over using telecommunication. We will be using appropriate PPE during these assessments and we request you to help us maintain social distancing as is currently advised. Apart from following the hand hygiene, we will be cleaning the facilities and toys after each appointment as appropriate.

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In order to apply the safety measures, we request all face to face appointments are kept to time. There will be opportunity to follow up on matters that you were unable to discuss during your face to face time with the clinician after the clinic session if you wish to do so. Your clinician will facilitate this on your request.

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For some sessions, we use multidisciplinary mode of assessment. In order to maintain social distancing we will ask the specialist(s) to join us remotely via a tele link.

 In the interest of safety we are offering staggered appointments with individual clinicians. This means that there is less overlap of time between patients.

We expect you to arrive in the hospital no earlier than 5 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment unless requested to do so. Some people prefer to stay in the safety of their own transport if they have arrived earlier.

Please note during busy times you may have to wait to register your attendance at the hospital.

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Minimize the number of attendees

In order to maintain social distancing, we ask for your cooperation to comply with the one carer per child policy for all face to face appointments.

This means that only one carer should attend per child. We can always use teleconsultation to aid contribution from other members of the family should you wish during your child's face to face appointment.

We assume implied consent if the carer who brings the child does not have parental responsibility.

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Temperature screening

We will offer to check the temperature of all attending the clinic session. This includes both the child and the carer.

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Social distancing:

We would like your help to maintain social distancing of 2 meters at all times.

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PPE (Personal Protective Equipment):

During face to face consultations, our clinicians will use PPE in accordance with Public Health England Guidelines.

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Cleaning

We use recommended disinfectants to cleanse all surfaces and toys after each clinic use for your safety in accordance with Public Health England Guidance.

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Reschedule face to face appointments:
We request that you reschedule the appointment if your child has active symptoms of COVID- 19 infection prior to any face to face consultation

Thanks:
We would like to thank you as users of our service for your cooperation during these unprecedented times.