Latest Covid-19 Info (June 2020)

Happy Friday to all! We hope you are all able to begin to slowly ease out of the lockdown measures in your own ways now that the UK Government has lifted many of the previous restrictions. We are continuing to regularly review our processes and measures in place to safeguard the Jigsaw OT centre against the spread of the Covid-19 virus to ensure that we are doing everything we can. 

We’ve been delighted to welcome back many familiar faces to the centre over the past week or so and it’s been a real joy to our whole team to be in a position to back supporting those who rely on our services. Hopefully as the weeks pass and the Covid-19 cases continue to reduce we will see more and more families visit us once again. We can’t wait! In addition, we’ve been able to get members of the team to return to work and we hope that we’ll have the full squad back before too long, I know many of you have been missing our lovely Gill and she will return soon!

One thing that hasn’t change is the prioritisation of the health and safety of our clients and staff and this ethos forms the basis of all our measures put in place. Therefore, despite the general easing of restrictions in the wider community, we will continue to keep our stringent measures in place. Please see below for confirmation of our continued measures at the centre which will be in place for all visitors: 

• We continue to ask all visitors to self-screen before visiting the Jigsaw OT centre to help lessen the spread of the virus. We ask that you do not visit if you or any member of your household have any symptoms of the Coronavirus, specifically if you have had a fever of 37.8C and respiratory problems with at least 2 of the following symptoms; cough, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion. We also ask that you do not visit if you have had any contact with any possible source of the virus. If you have met any of the above criteria please do not visit and contact NHS 111 for advice.

  There is clear signage at our entrance highlighting this point and we reserve the right to refuse entry to any visitor we feel has not adhered to this guidance. We have the facility to take visitors temperatures, via an electronic forehead thermometer, and will apply this facility to check any visitors who may be visibly displaying symptoms.

For those who are able to visit, in line with the primary measure highlight above please familiarise yourself with the following guidance: 

• All communal areas of the centre will remain closed and we operating a drop off system only for sessions. All parents/carers will be asked to either drop their child/young person off at the entrance when greeted by their treating OT and then return to their vehicles or join the session with child/young person. Assessments will require both children/young people and their parents/cares to be present in our therapy rooms. It will not be permitted to sit and wait inside the centre under any circumstances.

• Upon entry all visitors will be requested to wash their hands before entering the therapy room and before leaving the centre at the end of the session. Hand washing facilities will be available for this purpose in addition to hand sanitiser where hand washing is not possible. We will have clear signage throughout the centre highlighting the importance of hand washing. 

• All OT’s and reception staff will have face coverings available to them for circumstances where any direct contact, closer than 2 metres distance, with visitors is required as per the latest UK Government advice to wear face coverings in ‘enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and they come in contact with others that they do not normally meet’. The space within our centre and it’s therapy rooms does enable for social distancing measures to be adhered but, due to the nature of the therapy input, we feel the face coverings offer a prudent additional measure to protect our visitors, staff and the spread of the virus. We understand that for many children these face coverings will bring up negative connotations so please be assured that we will be mindful of this and work with you and your child to help alleviate these situation.

• Whilst Jigsaw OT will not stipulate that all visitors should wear face coverings would encourage you to consider the UK Government recommendations on face coverings and would recommend wearing when visiting our centre, if appropriate and possible, as an additional precautionary measure. 

• Our clear floor markings will be remain in place promoting 2 metre distancing at the entrance/reception area of the centre and in the few remaining communal areas (i.e. hallways, hand washing areas etc) to serve as a visual reminder of social distancing expectations. 

• All communal food and drink will remain unavailable from the kitchenette area at the centre. We ask that all visitors bring a personal bottle of water to their session should they require a drink. 

Our therapy rooms will continue to have limitations in relation to the amount of equipment and resources that will be available to help maintain the required levels of hygiene. Each room is being thoroughly disinfected and sanitised following each and every session. General communal areas throughout the centre are disinfected and sanitised at regular intervals throughout each and every day. All staff are instructed to wash their hands at least every 2 hours whilst at the centre and OT’s between every session. Disposable paper towels only are available for hand drying, used towels are binned and emptied regularly. 

We have done our very best to safeguard our visitors, staff and the centre as a whole to allow us to provide our services to those in need. However, we very much appreciate that despite these measure many of you will not be in a position to visit and we perfectly understand and appreciate individual circumstances will dictate above anything else. Please be aware that we will continue to be available to provide any remote support for those who are unable to access face-to-face sessions. Remote support can include: 

• Regular Telehealth video therapy sessions, providing home OT programs, advice, support and strategies to work on in lieu of being able to visit us and to maintain the relationship between your child/young person and the OT. 

• The OT team can provide written support documents to allow individuals to have access to specifically tailored strategies and resources to assist with handwriting skills, functional skills, regulation, fine and gross motor skills etc. 

• Regular phone and/or email support can be provided by your OT to help support you and your child/young person with managing through the lockdown period and with home educating ideas. 

Everyone at Jigsaw OT is dedicated to helping our clients as best we can and we miss seeing our regular faces each week. But we know we will see you again soon. If we can help with any of the above please just let us know or if there is any other way that you would like support please just get in touch and let us know how we can help you. 

As always, stay safe and we very much hope to see you all soon. 

Latest News re Covid-19 Measures

I hope you are all well and continuing to manage through these challenging times. Following this weeks update advice from the UK Government we have carried out a further review of our processes and measures in place to safeguard the Jigsaw OT centre against the spread of the Covid-19 virus. 

As many of you will be aware, through being proactive and extremely diligent with our measures we have managed to keep the centre open throughout the past weeks for those in most need of our services. We continue to be classified as an essential healthcare provider and thus have provided our services accordingly where possible, albeit on a hugely reduced scale. 

Looking to the future, it is our hope that as time passes we will continue to be able to provide our services to more and more individuals, either directly at the centre or remotely via our Telehealth services. Our priority remains the health and safety of our clients and staff and this ethos will form the basis of all our measures put in place. Please see below for confirmation of our continued measures at the centre which will be in place for all visitors: 

• we ask all visitors to self-screen before visiting the Jigsaw OT centre to help lessen the spread of the virus. We ask that you do not visit if you or any member of your household have any symptoms of the Coronavirus, specifically if you have had a fever of 37.8C and respiratory problems with at least 2 of the following symptoms; cough, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion. We also ask that you do not visit if you have had any contact with any possible source of the virus. If you have met any of the above criteria please do not visit and contact NHS 111 for advice. We will have clear signage at our entrance highlighting this information. 

For those who are able to visit, in line with the primary measure highlight above please familiarise yourself with the following guidance: 

• all communal areas of the centre remain closed and we operating a drop off system only for sessions. All parents/carers will be asked to either drop their child/young person off at the entrance when greeted by their treating OT and then return to their vehicles or join the session with child/young person. Assessments will require both children/young people and their parents/cares to be present in our therapy rooms.

• upon entry all visitors will be requested to wash their hands before entering the therapy room and before leaving the centre at the end of the session. Hand washing facilities will be available for this purpose in addition to hand sanitiser where hand washing is not possible. We will have clear signage throughout the centre highlighting the importance of hand washing. 

• All OT’s and reception staff will be wearing face coverings, during any direct contact with visitors as per the latest UK Government advice to wear face coverings in ‘enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and they come in contact with others that they do not normally meet’. The space within our centre and it’s therapy rooms does enable for social distancing measures to be adhered but, due to the nature of the therapy input, we feel the face coverings offer a prudent additional measure to protect our visitors, staff and the spread of the virus. These face coverings will not be medical grade masks, as these should be reserved for NHS requirements, but will be reusable fabric coverings. OT’s will be replacing their face coverings with a fresh and clean covering for each and every session. Used face coverings will be bagged and removed for cleaning before next use. 

• Whilst Jigsaw OT will not stipulate that all visitors should wear face coverings would encourage you to consider the UK Government recommendations on face coverings and would recommend wearing when visiting our centre, if appropriate and possible, as an additional precautionary measure. 

• clear floor markings will be put in place at the entrance/reception area of the centre and in the few remaining communal areas (i.e. hallways, hand washing areas etc) to serve as a visual reminder of appropriate social distancing. 

• All communal food and drink will remain unavailable from the kitchenette area at the centre. We ask that all visitors bring a personal bottle of water to their session should they require a drink. 

We have taken our responsibilities regarding keeping the centre open very seriously. We elected to remove a proportion of our equipment and resources to help maintain the required levels of hygiene and to enable our staff to adequately disinfect and sanitise the therapy rooms and resources following each and every session. General communal areas throughout the centre are disinfected and sanitised at regular intervals throughout each and every day. All staff are instructed to wash their hands at least every 2 hours whilst at the centre and OT’s between every session. Disposable paper towels only are available for hand drying, used towels are binned and emptied regularly. 

We have done our very best to safeguard our visitors, staff and the centre as a whole to allow us to provide our services to those in need. However, we very much appreciate that despite these measure many of you will not be in a position to visit and we perfectly understand and appreciate individual circumstances will dictate above anything else. Again, to be clear if you personally have any concerns or doubts about visiting Jigsaw OT then please do not not come. We will simply continue to cancel your regular planned sessions, without charge. Please also be aware that we are able to help remotely for those who are unable to access physical sessions, our team have been working collaboratively and we have seen some great successes in supporting individuals via our Telehealth services. Remote support can include: 

• regular Telehealth video therapy sessions, providing home OT programs, advice, support and strategies to work on in lieu of being able to visit us and to maintain the relationship between your child/young person and the OT. 

• where safe and appropriate to do so, according to the latest UK Government advice, OT”s can make themselves available to visit you in your family home bringing with them specialist equipment to provide a level of sensory input.

• the OT team can provide written support documents to allow individuals to have access to specifically tailored strategies and resources to assist with handwriting skills, functional skills, regulation, fine and gross motor skills etc. 

• regular phone and/or email support can be provided by your OT to help support you and your child/young person with managing through the lockdown period and with home educating ideas. 

Everyone at Jigsaw OT is dedicated to helping our clients as best we can and we miss seeing our regular faces each week. But we know we will see you again soon. If we can help with any of the above please just let us know or if there is any other way that you would like support please just get in touch and let us know how we can help you. 

As always, stay safe and we very much hope to see you all soon. 

Dominic Simpson

Jigsaw Occupational Therapy Limited 

Tel: 01444 616162

Email: dominic@jigsaw-ot.co.uk 

**Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Update @ Jigsaw OT**

24th March 2020 Update

Good Morning again, 

Following last nights message from the Government imposing additional measures on many business, I again wanted to reiterate that Jigsaw OT is classified as being an essential healthcare provider and thus is permitted to remain open to allow the delivery of essential services. 

As our previous communications have explained we have put in place extraordinary measures to safeguard our centre and it’s therapy rooms. A proportion of equipment and resources have been removed with only the most essential items remaining that are also straightforwardly kept cleaned and sanitised. The only contact you clients will have directly will be with their therapist, who will also have had their temperature recorded prior to starting work, you will be met at the door and take directly to your therapy room. Those parents/carers who do not wish to join the therapy sessions must return to their cars and wait until the time of the session ending. By putting these measures in place and by all adhering to them we will be able to remain open to provide the vital input so many require. For those who do visit us you will receive an additional email on the day of your session to confirm your appointment, this can and will be accepted by any authorities who might question your reasons for travelling. So please either keep this email or your text alert available in such circumstances. 

However, we very much appreciate that these are exceptional times and that for many it will not be safe nor appropriate to visit us. Let us state, if you have any concerns or doubts about visiting Jigsaw OT for therapy sessions then please do not come, cancel your sessions (without charge) and please let us know how else we can help. We have the ability to reach you remotely via video, phone or email so please let us or your OT know how they can help. 

Thank you again for all your support and understanding. We have done everything we can to secure the availability of our services to those it’s possible to deliver it to. We could be under these restrictions for some time and the impact of these measures may be considerable, therefore if we can help in any way then please reach out to us. But please, please consider your own circumstances before making your decision to visit, the health and safety of you and those around you are the most important factor. 

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Good Morning,

I hope you are all managing to cope in these extremely challenging circumstances. We are continuing to keep you informed on our position in terms of Jigsaw OT continuing to function and our reasonings for doing so. We are paying very close attention to the latest guidance from the UK government and Public Health England regarding social distancing and are taking this stance very seriously whilst at the same time acknowledging that therapists have determined as being ‘key workers’ due to the vital support they provide to those with additional needs. 

Therefore, Jigsaw OT is to remain open for business at our centre for 1:1 sessions and assessments only. All training events have been cancelled, with a view to being rescheduled to later in the year. However, our priority is the health and safety of our customers, staff and the wider community around us and therefore we must stress that all visitors adhere to the current guidance from the UK government. To reiterate this is primarily: 

• to stay at home if you or any member of your household have any symptoms of coronavirus, specifically a new continuous cough and/or high temperature.

We ask that anyone showing symptoms as highlighted above to communicate this to us as soon as possible to cancel your affected appointments. Taking additional consideration of the importance of social distancing in the current climate we have taken steps to limit person to person contact at our centre. **The following measures are already in place and we kindly request that you adhere to this measures and pay close attention to and understand what we will be asking of you, our clients, during any visit to the Jigsaw OT centre**.

• all children and parents/carers temperature will be taken upon arrival to the centre via a digital non-contact head thermometer. If any temperature of or above 37.8 degrees is recorded then we will request that those individuals do not access their appointment and will instead advise that the family return home and self isolate for the stipulated 14 days. 

• all parents/carers will be asked to either drop their child off to a member of the Jigsaw OT team at the entrance to the centre at the time of their appointment or to join the sessions itself in the therapy room. Our waiting room is closed to all visitors and we ask that those not joining the sessions wait onsite in their cars where possible. 

• All communal food and drink has been removed from the kitchenette area within the centre. We would ask that all children bring a personal water bottle to their session if they require a drink. 

• All visitors will be asked to wash their hands with soap and water before entering our therapy rooms. Hand sanitiser will be available upon request for any visitors who have difficulties washing with soap and water. 

• Any notices/posters will be displayed on the front door to the centre so they can be easily viewed by all customers. 

We are very conscious that many of you will not be able to physically visit us during this challenging time and those who usually received OT input for their child in school. And we are equally aware of the potential impact on our clients of an extended period of time without our support. Therefore our team have begun to implement strategies   to help support you in other ways. With immediate effect our our OT’s available to provide:

•  for regular video therapy sessions, in place of physical visits, where they can provide home OT programmes, advice and strategies to work on during any periods of self isolation and maintain the relationship between the OT and your child.

• where safe, appropriate and possible to do so our OT’s can make themselves available to visit you and your child in the home environment and will be able to bring an array of transferable OT equipment to facilitate home sessions. 

•  the OT’s can provide written support documents to allow individuals to have access to specifically tailored resources to assist with handwriting skills, functional skills, regulation, fine and gross motor skills etc. 

• regular phone and/or email support can be provided by your OT to help support you and your child during the extended period where home educating is required. 

Everyone at Jigsaw OT is dedicated to helping our clients and we are so sad that we might be unable to do this for many people. Therefore, we ask that you please get in contact with us and let us know how we can help you. No matter how big or small, we want to help so please just let us know how we can. 

Please keep an eye for any further updates on the how the Jigsaw OT centre is operating. We very much want to remain an option for people to access where possible and appropriate. Please be assured that all cancellation charges have been waived for the duration of this extraordinary period so please do not be concerned about any fees for short notice cancellations. Obviously, due to the high level of cancellations we are experiencing we do have availability for sessions if there are any clients who wish to attend additional sessions to help their home educating process, please just get in contact. 

By staying positive and working together we can all get through this challenging time. We must take care of each other and look out for those who might need our help. Please take good care of yourselves and take whatever steps are best for your and your loved ones. Whatever we can do help we will but most importantly we want you all to be safe and well so that we can see you again in better times and continue to help people for the better. It’s all everyone at Jigsaw OT wants. Again we thank you for your support and your help during this time. 

Wishing everyone all the very best,

The Jigsaw OT team.