WELLINGTON NORTH – With the move to stage two of the COVID-19 reopening in Ontario, the Mount Forest Family Health Team is updating the way it is providing services. The update also changes how people access LifeLabs services at Claire Stewart Medical Clinic.
To keep patients and staff safer, the MFFHT is asking the public to only come into the clinic if they need lab testing, to drop off or pick up samples or paperwork, or if they have a scheduled appointment.
Otherwise, people are asked call 519-323-0255 “and a team member will be happy to help you with your issue or concern,” states a Jan. 29 press release from the MFFHT.
Anyone coming to the clinic is asked wear their own mask or face covering and follow the instructions provided by the screener at the front door and the signs and directional arrows throughout the clinic.
Doors are open from 7:30am to 12:30pm and 1 to 4pm. Residents are asked to call if they need to enter after 4pm.
LifeLabs services are now walk-in only. Staff at the clinic will no longer be scheduling appointments on behalf of LifeLabs. There is limited space to wait inside the clinic. Once the spaces inside are full, people will be asked to wait outside. Wait times are longer than before COVID, officials note. LifeLabs continues to recruit for a second staff person.
Telephone and video visits continue to be the most common way that the MFFHT is providing care. Patients may be scheduled for a video or phone visit first and then asked to come to see a provider face-to-face if the provider feels it is necessary. Anyone asked to come for a face-to-face visit will be screened at the door using the standard provincial screening tool and may be asked to follow additional safety precautions if they screen positive at the door.
Staff will also take additional safety precautions.
A positive screening result does not mean an individual has COVID-19, it simply means that the chance that they do is higher, health team officials note.
Anyone who has COVID symptoms, should call their primary care provider or go to the Rural Wellington COVID-19 Assessment Centre to be assessed and tested. The assessment centre is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 6pm (closed on statutory holidays). The assessment centre is located at the Mount Forest and Area Sports Complex at 850 Princess Street, Mount Forest.
“We continue to work with our health and social service agency partners to connect you to the services you need closer to home whether that service is provided face to face or virtually,” officials state.
Anyone having difficulty getting connected to services they need should call 519-323-0255 and ask to be connected to the Outreach Team.
