Government guidance on infection prevention and control for seasonal respiratory infections including SARS-CoV-2 was updated on 24th November 2021. The update includes significant changes to the guidance on PPE (Section 6.5), although chiropractors should continue to have robust, risk-assessed, infection prevention and control measures in place, and continue to monitor any updates to the IPC guidance.
Although infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance agreed by the four UK nations remains under constant review, it has not been updated following the lifting of legal restrictions around COVID-19 that commenced today, Monday 19th July 2021. This means that the guidance, as issued on 1st June 2021, is still current and that, to ensure patient and staff safety is maintained, practising Chiropractors should continue to have robust, risk-assessed, infection prevention and control measures in place. Chiropractors should also monitor any updates to the IPC guidance.
New, official COVID-19 guidance for the remobilisation of services within health and care settings: infection prevention and control (IPC) recommendations was issued jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Public Health Wales (PHW), Public Health Agency (PHA) Northern Ireland, Health Protection Scotland (HPS)/National Services Scotland, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England on 20 August 2020.
This guidance desribes the covid-19 management pathways for the treatment, care and support of patients/individuals and has important implications for the PPE chiropractors need to use at this time.
With the R value of covid-19 falling below 1, active introduction of test, track & trace, and essential PPE becoming more accessible, the RCC recognises that it may now be feasible for some chiropractors to decide that, in their professional opinion and depending on their individual circumstances, they are able to offer face-to-face care, for some patients, that meets an appropriate safety threshold.
The RCC advises that it is important for every chiropractor to engage in a stringent risk management process in order to establish the special culture of safety required in clinics during the covid-19 pandemic, and a new RCC document outlines the key requirements of such a process.
In notices issued on 24th March 2020 and 9th April 2020, the Royal College of Chiropractors (RCC) advised chiropractors to stop seeing patients in person and clinics to remain closed in order to comply with government guidance on social distancing.
This government guidance has not changed, and the RCC’s advice for clinics to remain closed for face-to-face care has not changed. However, the RCC has issued guidance to assist chiropractors in recognising what is required from a risk management perspective in order to prepare and plan for the provision of face-to-face chiropractic services as the pandemic continues.
The government has advised this evening that while current measures to curb the spread coronavirus are starting to have an impact, it is too early to lift restrictions. Thus, further to advice issued on 24th March 2020, the Royal College of Chiropractors continues to advise chiropractic clinics to remain closed for face-to-face consultations, until further notice.
As from today – Tuesday 24th March 2020 – the Royal College of Chiropractors advises chiropractic clinics to close for face-to-face consultations, focusing instead on providing remote services for the next 3 weeks, i.e. until Tuesday 14 April, in the first instance.
We expect delegates at our events to follow the Public Health England (PHE) guidance regarding Covid-19. Thus, those who have travelled to the UK from specific locations identified by PHE (including, but not limited to, Hubei province in China and lockdown areas in northern Italy) must stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if no symptoms are present. For a wider range of locations, the same applies if symptoms are present.
Please refer to the PHE guidance if you have recently travelled to the UK from elsewhere, and adhere to the guidance.
Furthermore, if you have reason to believe that you have been in close contact with someone who has coronavirus, you should call NHS 111 and follow the guidance provided.
If following PHE or NHS guidance requires you to self-isolate, please contact us to let us know. Under these circumstances you must not attend our events.
Contact us at: T: 01491 340022 | E: admin@rcc-uk.org
Public Health England (PHE) pulishes regularly updated information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms.
PHE has also produced helpful guidance for Primary Care.
The UK Healthcare Regulators have published this joint statement.
