I thought it would be a good idea to go over how we have managed the past year with the on-going pandemic and to give a few updates on the clinic.
As you may expect, things have not been smooth sailing, with a few highs and many lows. The hardest part so far was the start of the pandemic, closing the clinic temporarily was one of the hardest decisions we have ever made. The clinic was just finding its feet in its new location and having to close was gutting. The legal stand point, believe it or not, was that we could have stayed open to treat urgent and emergency patients only. However, the majority of the profession took the view that private conservative healthcare clinics were not in a safe position to stay open. A decision which I would not change if I had to make it again, as it was definitely the right one. Our reasons for closing were because PPE supplies were being directed to the NHS, which made it hard to source with no regular supplier available. We had no risk assessment in place, no structural plan for how the clinic was to run and the number of cases was sky rocketing out of control (similar to what we are seeing now). Thankfully, the government was very supportive to small businesses, which helped us cope financially. Most of our team of professionals have managed to get some support from the self-employed scheme and our employed staff were furloughed up to the end of the first lockdown. Not all of our team has been as fortunate as others, Chiropractic and Physiotherapy are classed as essential. Our other therapies have not been so fortunate and have had to either work using telehealth methods or stop altogether. Those of us that have continued in the clinic have missed seeing our colleagues. Annual events such as our Christmas get together and social events have been sorely missed. Especially at times such as when we have had new team members join, as it is lovely to get to know them outside of the clinical environment. Our newest team member Maddie Smith Joined the team back in November. Maddie is an experienced massage therapist who has worked in some very fancy spas and hotels. Maddie brings a lot of experience to the team and we are looking forward to developing the massage experiences available at the clinic with her.
You'll be pleased to know that we'll be seeing a lot more of Receptionist Debbie at the clinic, as we have increased her hours. Debbie will now be in everyday, so we'll have a bit more continuity between shifts. Since Debbie joined at the start of 2020, she has been a star. Debbie has gone above and beyond during the pandemic to help us cope with the many hurdles we have had to face. It is great to have lovely team members going the extra mile for our patients.
We wish you all the best during these difficult times and thank you very much for your support and kind words.
Danny
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