ECHUCA-MOAMA Family Medical Practice is enforcing higher safety standards than what is expected to protect patients and staff from COVID-19.
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It comes after the Riv received multiple complaints from people who were refused entry to the practice as they could not wear a face mask.
Principal Peter Nesbitt said the practice had a policy in place since March which required everyone coming through the doors to wear a mask.
If they had an exemption, it had to be at the discretion of one of the practice doctors.
“People can’t just come in and say they’ve got a badge or say they have an exemption. We need to investigate what that exemption is before we say that’s reasonable or not,” Dr Nesbitt said.
“We don’t want people to feel like they’re being marginalised or discriminated against and have to go somewhere else, but it’s just that every practice has their own standards.
“We’re doing it for the safety of everyone. We have patients who have chronic diseases and are immuno-suppressed. We don’t want to put them at risk.
“If someone does come in and happens to spread it, the elderly and people with chronic diseases and are immuno-suppressed are most at risk and that would be a disaster.
“If we do have a case at the practice, then we would have to close.”
A woman recently contacted the Riv, saying her mentally ill daughter was refused entry to the surgery to have stitches removed because she couldn’t wear a mask.
The mother said the situation had caused her daughter significant anxiety and “almost tipped her over the edge”.
Dr Nesbitt said that specific patient had very complex issues.
“We’re restricted in what we can say but there is a lot more to the story,” he said.
However, Dr Nesbitt said the fact the woman had a medical exemption was not enough for the practice to consider her risk-free.
“The badge is good in the community because then people will stop hassling them but that’s not enough for us to say come in,” he said.
“If they have an exemption it should be us that makes that determination rather than a doctor from somewhere else.
“We can’t control doctors outside this practice and what their beliefs and rationales are.
“Anyone who walks through the door, it’s not the responsibility of a doctor from another practice as to whether they can walk through here.
“It’s the responsibility of our doctors because we’re the ones that are responsible for the care and safety of our patients and our staff and anyone who comes in here.”
That also goes for those needing blood tests, as was the case with two men who complained they too were refused entry to the pathology clinic.
“They would have to be assessed by one of our doctors to see what their risk is and whether that exemption is worthwhile for the next 15 minutes while getting a blood test,” Dr Nesbitt said.
“We’re trying to protect everyone and we’re not trying to discriminate. We don’t care who comes and gets their blood at clinical labs, but we do care about who comes through the door and still must abide by the same standards. It’s the same for everyone.
“There’s also no test here that can’t be done at the hospital.”
Dr Nesbitt said there were not too many situations he could think of where someone could not wear a mask for 15 minutes.
“Unless someone has severe disease or illness where they shouldn’t be in the community, the mask will do no harm,” he said.
“If they’re likely to be harmed in the 15 or 20 minutes they’re in the practice, then they’re probably too sick to be in here.
“Unless someone is really sick and they’re on oxygen all the time, then of course we would give them exemptions, but they would have to be a patient that we’re familiar with and made sure they’re going to be safe as well as everyone else here.”
Dr Nesbitt said the practice would be enforcing best practice safety standards for the next 12 months.
“It’s not always about following what the DHHS says, it’s about what we’re comfortable with and what we feel is safe. It’s about maintaining our standards,” he said.
“It’s a difficult situation and it changes day to day. But it’s the environment we’re in and it would be awful if this virus spreads through town.
“You just have to look at what happened in Shepparton. It shows how the ball has been dropped by at least one person and maybe others, but it’s got the potential to really blow up.
“More than ever we’re being particularly careful and we’re now excluding people from the Shepparton area for the next couple of weeks until we know what their risk is.”
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