Covid-19 Coronavirus Update

Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Update

We understand that patients may be concerned about the recent Coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China late last year. We wanted to provide some information on this following recent alerts from the State and Federal Governments.
The Australian & NSW Governments are monitoring the situation and have processes in place to identify cases confirmed in Australia and have also put measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Infection with the new Coronavirus is now a notifiable condition under the NSW Public Health Act, so all cases and suspected cases must be reported by doctors to NSW Health so they can take the necessary action  to prevent a spread of the virus.

What is COVID-19 Coronavirus?

The Novel Coronavirus (CoV) is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. This new coronavirus is closely related to SARS coronavirus (Severe acute respiratory Syndrome) and MERS Coronavirus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The Coronavirus can cause illness such as fever and / or cough and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress. As such, it is important to do what we can to prevent the spread of this virus.

What are we at Sydney Ophthalmic Specialists doing to manage the risk within our Practice?

The health and safety of our staff, doctors and patients at Sydney Ophthalmic Specialists is of the utmost importance. Sydney Ophathalmic Specialists are following the advice of the Australian Government Department of Health, monitoring the alerts being issued and  following their latest recommendations.

We are continuing to follow our stringent health and safety practices regarding the cleaning of equipment and all surfaces throughout the clinical and reception areas in addition to cleaning the games and toys in the waiting rooms. We are also undertaking our usual prevention measures of regular hand washing and placement of hand sanitiser stations, which we are encouraging our patients to use on entry to and during their time at our practice.

What can you to do to help?

As per usual health and wellness guidance, patients who are unwell with respiratory illness should seek medical advice and remain at home until symptoms resolve. We are politely requesting that anyone experiencing flu like symptoms phone us to reschedule their appointment rather than attend our practice.

All persons visiting the practice will be screened for recent, high risk travel and for illness when they enter the practice by our reception staff. Patients who have travelled to the following countries in the past 14 days will be instructed to reschedule their appointment to a day that ensures they have been back in Australia for at least 15 days. All efforts will be made to accommodate their rescheduled appointment in a timely manner.

  • Mainland China
  • Iran
  • Italy
  • Republic of Korea
  • Cambobia
  • Hong Kong
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • Singapore
  • Thailand

We are asking that all of our patients and visitors to our practice take the precautions advised by NSW Health including:

  • Frequent hand washing with soap and water and cleaning of hands using alcohol-based hand rub.
  • When coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – throw tissues away immediately in the bins located in the waiting area or consulting rooms and proceed to wash hands – please ask our staff to direct you to a hand basin you can use to wash your hands. For more information and advice on hand washing technique there is an excellent summary available on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website here.
  • Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever and cough
  • Promote and encourage good hygiene and infection prevention practices with your children

Where Can I get more Information?

More information about Novel Coronavirus can be found on the NSW Health Website. We have also taken information from the World Health Oganisation (WHO). Please be mindful of where you source information – there is alot of misinformation circulating on certain media outlets so please be careful to only get your information from credible government sources.