Question

Hi Dr. Peter,

I am a 52 years old entrepreneur. I would like to resume the aesthetic facial treatment that I regularly used to have after weeks of lockdown. This includes my scheduled Botox treatment every 3 – 4 months, and  laser treatment for overall facial rejuvenation.

But I have some reservations. For example, how do I know that the premise is well sanitized? Will there be a crowd of more than 10 patients at one go? How do we stay safe while social distancing may not be possible during treatment? Are there any heightened risks of getting aesthetic treatments during this period?

Please share the precautionary measures that you and your team undertake during this period, as the world races to develop the Covid-19 vaccine. Thank you.

Irene

Answers

As the world is in varying stages of battling the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia has seen light at the end of the tunnel. As we enter the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) stage, we can now carefully ease into our daily life, in a “New Normal” way.

Without an approved vaccine to date, no one is invincible from the Coronavirus disease.   Our lives and the livelihood of all businesses will never be the same as before.

Now and in the next few months, we need to upkeep hand hygiene, avoid close contact, and maintain social distancing. We need to embrace this “New Normal”, and make it a habit in our continuous fight to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In this light, we have gone the extra mile to make sure that you are safe when you visit our clinic. We have taken extra precautionary measures to make sure that when you step through our doors, we are sure that you are healthy and in good shape.

Let us address your anxiety and answer popular questions about getting aesthetic treatments as we battle the pandemic.

Could you share the preventive measures undertaken by your practice during this period?

We have put in place multiple precautionary measures to ensure that our patient’s and staff’s health are preserved during this period. Bear in mind that both patient and staff must play their part and be transparent in our quest to minimize the spread of Covid-19.

Here are 9 comprehensive steps and protocols we practice to make our environment safe for business amidst Covid-19. Let us elaborate on what each measure entails.

1. Arrive For Your Appointment Alone

We will remind patients that they must arrive for their appointment promptly and alone. If the patient is accompanied by someone else, the individual may wait in their vehicle or outside the office for the duration of the appointment.

By arriving alone, we can continue to adhere to safe distancing measures and minimize crowding.

For patients with mobility issues and the elderly, this protocol does not apply and we encourage them to be accompanied.

2. Minimize Crowd with Scheduled Appointments

We encourage patients to call-in in advance to book an appointment. During this period, we will not cater to walk-ins. We will also space out appointments to ensure that at any point in time, there will not be more than 10 people in our clinic. This would also allow us to thoroughly disinfect our clinic between patient visits.

3. Compulsory Body Temperature Scanning

Our reception staff will perform temperature screening as you enter our clinic. This is to ensure that you are healthy before we proceed with the treatment. If your temperature is 37.5°C and below, we will lead you to our consultation room and perform the treatment post consultation.

However, if your temperature is 37.5°C and above, we will advise you to go home, rest, and seek medical treatment.

Even if you present with a low-grade fever or flu, we recommend that you recuperate at home until your condition improves. We will touch base with you 14 days later to reschedule your appointment.

4. Adhering to Strict Hand Hygiene Among Patients

All patients are required to sanitize their hands upon entering the clinic. We liberally placed alcohol sanitizers at our reception and waiting areas to be used, as and when you need it.

5. Screening of Patients With Questionnaires

All patients are required to complete a health declaration form detailing your travel history, health status, and declare if you have been in close contact with any positive Covid-19 case or person under investigation (PUI).

Remember, to cut transmission risk, we all must be transparent and declare with full honesty.

6. Use A Medical Mask At All Times

All our staff are required to wear a surgical mask at all times. Similarly, patients are required to wear a mask for their appointment.

7. Conduct Frequent Sanitization

Common touchpoints such as doorknobs, glass doors, reception table, treatment rooms, and toilets are sanitized every 3 hours. To ensure that our staffs never miss a sanitization session, we have created a cleaning schedule (with assigned “maker” and “checker” roles) displayed on our treatment room doors. Such transparency provides assurance to our patients that our treatment rooms are frequently sanitized.

Furthermore, our frequency of sanitization is above the minimum recommended disinfection rate of at least once a day. We use household bleach solutions to sanitize the entire clinic. These practices are in line with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines for disinfecting surfaces.

You will also notice that our treatment beds are made of PVC surfaces, and not made of cloth. This makes it easier for us to clean and sanitize the treatment bed after every treatment. We have also removed unnecessary blankets, pillows, robes, or headbands in our treatment rooms to ease sanitization.

It is also an established routine for all our staff to sanitize our hands after attending to every patient.

8. Social Distancing From Each Other

We have open up more rooms to be used as waiting areas to ensure that patients maintain a minimum distance of 1 meter from each other. In our fight against this epic pandemic, social distancing has become a norm that will help keep us safe.

9. Briefing on Covid-19 Safety Protocols and Adhering to Good Hand Hygiene

Our staff have been briefed and are regularly reminded about the importance of adhering to Covid-19 safety protocols put in place. Staff is also required to practice good hand hygiene and wash or sanitize their hands before and after each encounter with a patient.

We have also briefed our staff to minimize the handling of personal cell phones throughout the workday. We mandate that staff refrain from handling cell phones between their last hand wash and any patient contact. Staffs are also encouraged to take their meals based on alternate schedules to prevent crowding in the pantry.

Are aesthetic treatments (like Botox, lasers, and fillers) safe during this period?

These procedures are safe because they do not suppress our immune system. Lasers, fillers, and Botox injections are non-invasive procedures that do not compromise our ability to fight harmful microorganisms.

With or without Covid-19, we practice an “aseptic” approach when performing these treatments. This means that we perform the procedure in a very sterile method. We sterilize the set used for the procedure, ensure that the environment is sterile, and disinfect our patient’s skin before the procedure.

As such, it is a myth that you can develop flu or sore throat from having injectable or aesthetic procedures during this period.

For Botox and fillers, the medical practitioner will need to be near to the patient to administer the treatment. How do we ensure our safety and health, when maintaining the meter-length space is not possible?

Doctors performing injectable treatment must be in close proximity to the patient. This is because we need to have an accurate and clear view of the treatment area. However, let us share two reasons to reassure you that the risk of transmitting infection within the clinic is non-existent.

Firstly, as part of the medical fraternity, we would not come to work if we are the slightest bit under the weather. We will not risk the spread of any form of infectious disease to our clients or staff.

Secondly, we wear a surgical mask when we are unable to maintain the 1-meter distance during treatment.

With these measures in place, any risk of having droplets landing on your face, nose, or mouth during the procedure, is eradicated.

Conclusion

The health and wellbeing of our patients, doctors, and staff is our highest concern. We want you to feel safe when you step into our clinic. Furthermore, we do not want you to have any doubts or worries when you consult us for treatment. That’s why we undertake more stringent measures to upkeep sanitization, hygiene, and social distancing during this period.

Should you wish to speak to us or schedule an appointment, please call or WhatsApp us at 011-2288 2299. Alternatively, drop us an email at info@peterchngskinspecialist.com. Stay safe and see you soon.

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If you’d like to ask more about your skin condition or have a discussion with Dr Peter, you can contact us at +6011-22882299, Whatsapp us, or book an appointment with Dr Peter here!