Happy Hygiene!!

With all the rapidly developing changes in the Coronavirus crisis (I don’t think that’s too strong a word right now), we’ve developed our own Happy Hygiene procedures at Gawler Animal Hospital! As stated last week, we’re absolutely determined to stay open and to provide all our normal services to both clients and pets. In order to reduce the chance of any temporary closures due to infection (of our people), we’d love to have your help in a number of ways. All of these involve a little sacrifice on the part of our pet owners (and a much bigger sacrifice and workload for the staff!).

Here is a list of some of the things we’ve reluctantly decided to put in place from now on:

• Distant consultation with owners
  • Much as we love seeing you, all consults and surgical admissions will have to be held with minimal contact between staff, owners and even the building.
  • We’ll ask you to wait outside of the building (such as in your car) until we’re ready for you – just let us know when you arrive
  • A nurse will come to your car to fetch your beloved pet(s).
  • Our wonderful vets will phone you (in the carpark) to catch up on history and work out what’s going on with your pets.
• Please order (and pay for) food and medication repeats in advance
  • To minimize foot traffic into the clinic, we will be asking you to call, order and pay for food and medication orders over the phone.
  • Good news is that we will have your order ready to collect so that you don’t have to wait around. All receipts will be emailed so good for the environment too!
• Where possible, please pay electronically
  • We would appreciate payments of services to be by paywave or direct debit where possible
  • This allows us to minimise handling of cash.
• If you’re unwell or in quarantine, we have a plan for you!
  • If you are being quarantined or are unwell, please let us know so that we can create a plan for your pet which keeps everyone as safe as possible.
  • We’ll still see to your pets needs but we just need to be extra careful not to spread the virus
  • This also applies to dispensing medication or food that you may need.
  • If need be, we’ll deliver food and medication directly to you

• Please use extra hygiene methods as directed
  • We’ve even installed a hand sanitiser outside the front door of the hospital!
  • Ideally, please wash your hands thoroughly with soap before coming to see us.
  • There is also hand sanitiser on the front desk for you to use
• Great idea to wash your dog before coming in (if practical)
  • In theory, dogs can still carry the virus on their coats if handled by an infected owner
  • In this circumstance, the advice is not to cuddle your pet too closely and to wash them regularly where possible
• Please email us your signed hospital/surgery admission forms in advance
  • This will save us from handling paper (which can be a means of virus transmission, believe it or not)
  • If you forget, we’ll have the admitting nurse go through the form with you and get your verbal consent (so that you don’t have to handle the form).
• Our staff have been split into two groups to ensure that we can stay open
  • Even if one staff member tests positive to Coronavirus, we’ll still have half of our group available to look after you
  • Each group will be doing long days but dropping to a 3-day week
  • This may mean you can’t always book in with your favourite vet or nurse but we’ll still do our best to accommodate requests

At the moment, everything is evolving rapidly and we may even need to make further changes. If you can work with us, though, we’ll continue to provide you with the highest level of care for your pet friends and support you in any way we can. We’re aware that these changes may not be ideal for you but we’re just doing our best to help get on top of this nasty virus.  Also, our lovely staff are going to be going to be heavily impacted by all of this. Please be patient with them and give them a smile – they deserve it!!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give us a call on 8522 3500.