The Government has transitioned New Zealand to the traffic light system (known as the COVID19 Protection Framework), which came into effect on Friday 3rd December 2021.
The provision of health services (including dietetic services) is set out in section 103 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021
Importantly, the provision of health services including dietetic services, or workers who provide these services are exempt from the Order. This means that dietitians and dietetic businesses continue to remain open through all levels of the traffic light system.
As set out on the Ministry of Health’s website, face-to-face appointments are able to occur under all levels of the traffic light system when the following processes are in place:
Nutrition & Life have had these provisions in place throughout the previous L1-4 system and remains fully compliant with the Ministry’s requirements.
Transitioning to the Traffic Light system at Nutrition & Life means we are now also checking vaccination status for our in-clinic sessions but are holding the view that unvaccinated people do need our services for a range of reasons.
We are supporting our Dietitian’s clinical judgement which typically suggests telehealth for the unvaccinated but without being too rigid in our implementation. Some people will respond better to face-to-face meetings, and we want to be mindful of both clinician and client needs as we assess on a case-by-case basis.
If we do work with unvaccinated people face-to-face, we prefer both clinician and client to wear a mask if possible.
We also ask clients to be mindful of clinician’s own situations. Some clinicians have family members who are more at risk of infection due to autoimmune or other health conditions. We don’t insist that a clinician must see an unvaccinated person.
Please respect our clinician’s decision and understand that there is a suite of potential underlying reasons for deciding to only meet virtually.
Nutrition & Life’s client forms which are provided ahead of initial appointments will include a question regarding vaccination status. Clinicians will take their individual circumstances in mind and make informed decisions around moving appointments to virtual where there is a risk in face-to-face meeting.
Existing clients booked for in-person sessions will be asked to fill out a simplified client form ahead of their next visit, to indicate their status for our records. We thank you for taking the time to respond to such requests.
As always, all personal information held at Nutrition & Life is done so securely with client privacy being an utmost concern. Please refer to Nutrition & Life’s Privacy Policy for more information – Read The Privacy Policy
From time to time our clients will bring their whanau to a session. We ask that only vaccinated family (12 years and older), not experiencing any symptoms, are invited.
We are also conscious that some of the properties we rent will only accept vaccinated persons on-site. We ask you to respect such requirements as they make themselves apparent.
In summary, we will advise you of clinician and clinic specific requirements for attending your in-person appointment and, we request that you follow the guidelines and highlight any concerns to us prior to your appointment.
Nutrition & Life believes that it is possible that COVID-19 will be widespread by mid-January and it is crucial that both clients and clinicians do what they can to be safe. This includes sensible stress management, healthy diet, a good exercise regime and ensuring healthy sleep patterns. While this doesn’t protect from COVID-19 to a large extent, general health does have a factor in the severity of infection being less should it occur.
The Dietitians Board website continues to provide all updates to Dietitians. Nutrition & Life works closely with the Dietitians Board to adopt the necessary policies as quickly as possible as these updates occur.
Please feel free to reach out to us directly, should you need any clarity or have any additional concerns. You can email us at bookings@nutritionandlife.co.nz or ring us at 0800 909-878 (Mon-Fri, 8:30am - 5pm).
Thank you so much, we greatly appreciate you and look forward to helping you achieve your health goals under this new framework.
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