Your SAFETY is our PRIORITY

 Dear Valued Clients,

The health and wellbeing of our clients is always of utmost priority, particularly during the current outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Since we have been on high alert due to the presence of COVID-19 in Australia, we have been following all guidelines and recommendations provided by health authorities and health organisations. In order to minimise the risks and any possible impact this outbreak might have on our clients over the coming weeks, we have further adjusted our policies and introduced additional safeguards:

– During all appointment confirmations, we ask clients to advise us if they have noticed any cold/flu-like symptoms, and

– We require all clients attending our clinics in person to complete a brief risk assessment questionnaire when they arrive for their scheduled appointment.

Should any risk be identified for those reporting:

• flu-like symptoms,
• close contact with positive COVID cases, or
• overseas travel in the past 14 days.

– We may reschedule the appointment,
– We may encourage phone reviews when appropriate, or
– We may offer hearing aid adjustments remotely via smartphone apps (only available for some hearing aids)
– We may ask for hearing aids to be dropped off or mailed to us for repairs or adjustments.

As part of our safeguards, we have also updated our infection control procedures at all our clinics to include the following:

• Applying strict hand hygiene (Administration Staff and Clinicians)
• Offering hand sanitisers to clients upon entry to our clinics
• Wearing appropriate protective items such as N95 face masks and gloves as appropriate
• Offering face masks to clients during certain procedures when closer contact is expected
• Thorough disinfection of medical/audiological equipment after every use
• Disinfection/cleaning of clinical rooms after every client
• Multiple cleaning / disinfection of all reception areas throughout the course of each day

The health and safety of our clients and their families, and our staff and families are paramount and we are taking all necessary measures to ensure these are upheld while we are supporting you with your hearing needs. We will continue to monitor the situation for new developments daily and adjusting our administration policies and clinical procedures accordingly.

We appreciate your support for keeping Ear and Hearing clinics a safe environment for yourself, our staff and all other clients.

Dr Moh Dadafarin
Director of Audiology
Ear and Hearing Australia