Advice for patients attending Malone Medical Chambers
If you have an appointment at Malone Medical Chambers and you believe you have symptoms of Coronavirus (high temperature or new continuous cough or loss of/change in smell or taste) or have been in contact with anyone who has these symptoms, please do not attend the clinic and call your consultant’s office or your solicitor to reschedule your appointment.
On attending the clinic all patients are requested to adhere to the following requirements:
- Please be punctual for your appointment. Do not arrive early for your appointment as you will not be able to enter the clinic until your allocated appointment time.
- Please remain outside the clinic until the time of your appointment and enter the clinic alone once you have been contacted by your consultant/practitioner or the clinic receptionist.
- Patients may attend for their consultation accompanied by another adult only if assistance is absolutely essential.
- All patients under the age of 18 years should be accompanied by an adult.
- All patients are required to wear a face covering for the duration of their time in the clinic. If you do not have access to a face covering one will be provided to you by the receptionist as soon as you enter the clinic for your appointment.
- If you are exempt from the requirement to wear a face covering, please confirm with your consultant/solicitor in advance in relation to the individual consultant’s policy regarding face coverings/exemptions.
- On entering the clinic everyone must use the alcohol-based hand sanitiser which is available throughout the reception area.
- When coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a flexed elbow, or use a tissue and discard it immediately into a bin (preferably a clinical waste bin i.e. the bin with the yellow bag).
- As you enter the room for your appointment, the consultant will check your temperature using an infrared temperature probe
General Information for patients
What should I do if I think I have COVID-19? If you have:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature); OR
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual); OR
- a loss of or change in sense of smell or taste.
Everyone you live with must stay at home. You should arrange a test for COVID-19.
You can ring NHS 111 for information or advice and they will help you decide if you need to contact your GP. Calling your GP may be necessary if you have:
- an existing health condition;
- problems with your immune system;
- you feel you are not coping with your symptoms.
While waiting for your test or if you receive a positive diagnosis for COVID-19:
- you’ll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started;
- after 10 days from when your symptoms started:
- if you have not had a high temperature for 48 hours, you no longer need to self-isolate;
- if you still have a high temperature, you need to self-isolate until your temperature has returned to normal for 48 hours.
- You do not need to self-isolate if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell/taste after 10 days, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.
- s long as you complete the full 10 days isolation from developing symptoms (and have not had a high temperature for 48 hours) you can return to normal even if a contact/household member develops symptoms within 10 days of those first symptoms starting.
- However if after you have completed isolation you are identified as a close contact, you must isolate again for 10 days, unless that person is a household member who developed symptoms within 10 days of the first infection in the household.
If you live with someone who has symptoms:
- if you live with someone who has symptoms, you’ll need to stay at home and self-isolate also. If the person with symptoms tests positive for COVID-19, everyone in the household without symptoms will need to self-isolate for 10 days from the day the first person in the home started having symptoms;
- however, if you develop symptoms during this 10-day period, you’ll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from the day your symptoms started (regardless of what day you are on in the original 10-day period). Follow the advice above on when to end self-isolation.