Therapists pleased to return to face-to-face appointments

In the private sector, for hands-on therapists, face-to-face appointments stopped fully.

Osteopath at the Avenue Clinic Dimi Argyros said online consultations took place, but the uptake was not great as most people look for the face-to-face, hands-on approach.

Urgent cases were referred to GPs or the Emergency Department and some were referred on for treatment at the hospital after being cleared by Public Health.

During the rapidly changing situation, Public Health’s efforts to ensure people had minimal contact in case of a further outbreak meant that therapists’ work levels dropped significantly, but they were understanding of the circumstances.

Moving to stage two of the exit from lockdown on Monday, public-facing businesses that were not open in stage one could re-open as long as they followed Public Health guidance.

‘We had over a couple of hundred people waiting for their appointments to be rescheduled and others ringing in addition to that since we opened,’ Ms Argyros said.

‘We are fortunate to have had a new practitioner starting, which has helped us cope with increased demand and has meant we have still been able to get new patients in quickly, as well as seeing those waiting to be rescheduled.’

After the first lockdown, Avenue Clinic found that having to delay appointments meant some patients were more affected by their issue and it took longer for it to resolve than it would have done if they could have been seen face-to-face sooner.

‘We also saw an increase in issues such as neck pain, headaches and upper and lower back pain, related to poor desk and computer set-ups or the use of unsuitable chairs for long periods,’ she said.

‘We tried to minimise the impact by having ergonomic advice on our Facebook page and website but it is still difficult to work from home if you haven’t got all the right equipment in place.’

The team were pleased to be back to work this week to help those in need of their services.