COVID-19 Statement and our approach at Sanders Podiatry

Coronavirus/COVID-19 is concerning for all of us. At Sanders Podiatry, are committed to keeping our clients and team safe. Podiatry currently remains an essential service due to the potential for high risk complications with diabetes, wound management and maintaining mobility and comfort.  

About Covid-19  

None of us has been in this unique situation before and the unknown can be very scary, especially for those people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19. 

What is the Coronavirus (COVID-19)? 

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can make humans and animals sick. The illnesses can range from the common cold to more severe diseases. Coronavirus (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan City in China.  

What are the symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19)?  

Many people who contract COVID-19 will suffer only mild symptoms. 

However early indications are that the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions are more at risk of experiencing severe symptoms. 

The most common symptoms reported include:  

• Fever  
• Breathing difficulties such as breathlessness  
• Cough  
• Sore throat  
• Fatigue or tiredness  
•  

Who is at risk of COVID-19?  

In Australia, the people most at risk of getting the virus are those who have:  

• Travelled or transited through Iran, mainland China or South Korea  
• Had close contact with a confirmed case  
• Travelled internationally  
• People who feel unwell  
• The elderly or people who have pre-existing medical conditions:  
• people with compromised immune systems (e.g. cancer)  
• elderly people  
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as they have higher rates of chronic illness  
• people with diagnosed chronic medical conditions  
• very young children and babies*  
• people in group residential settings  
• people in detention facilities  

At this stage, the risk to children and babies, and the role children play in the transmission of COVID-19, is not clear. However, there has so far been a low rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases among children relative to the broader population.  

How does COVID-19 spread?  

There is evidence that the virus spreads from person-to-person. The virus is most likely spread through:  

• Close contact with an infectious person  
• Contact with droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze  
• Touching objects or surfaces (like doorknobs or tables) that have a cough or sneeze droplets from an infected person, and then touching your mouth or face   

For more information about COVID-19 – please see the following:

The Australian Government Department of Health has the following flyers about COVID-19:

1. What you need to know – https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-what-you-need-to-know_4.pdf
2. Frequently asked questions – https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions.pdf

At Sanders Podiatry, we are taking the following precautionary measures

1. Access to hand sanitizers for clients.
2. Increasing the frequency of cleaning the clinic.
3. All team members have done a handwashing learning module.
4. We will practice social distancing by not shaking hands and maintaining minimal person to person contact. We have spaced our waiting room and have outside waiting chairs.
5. We wipe down surfaces in our clinic between clients.
6. We wipe our EFTPOS/HICAPs terminal between transactions
7. Our magazines have been removed from our waiting room.
8. All team members are advised not to attend work if they feel unwell to prevent infection.
9. All clients are advised not to cancel their appointments if they feel unwell to prevent infection.
10. We aim to keep to schedule, so we ask clients to attend at their appointment time and minimise time spent in our waiting area.
11. We are taking all available precautions, whilst maintaining service to our clients and community.
12. Our Stirling clinic, working alongside Clinpath have been advised that no swabs or blood testing is done for Covid-19 at that centre.
13. Our Greenhill clinic is working together with Caring Dentistry to maintain hygiene practices and clinical cleaning.

Please contact us at our clinics if you have any questions or wish to discuss any of the above. We are doing our best to continue offering our services to our community in the safest way possible.

Kind regards,

The Sanders Podiatry Team