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Version 4; correct at the time of publication, subject to continuous review
Updated 29/03/2020
Updated 6/04/2020
Updated 19/04.2020
Situation overview
The Coronavirus COVID19 pandemic has continued to impose significant change on our lives. Significant limitations have been placed on day to day life and the government have had to step in to prop up our economy and society.
This situation is unlikely to change any time soon and therefore we have introduced a number of key measures to ensure we can continue to work in your garden / commercial site with safety being top priority for everyone.
Categorising Coronavirus COVID19
COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.
Symptoms include but are not exclusive to:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Possible methods of transmission
Because it’s a new illness, we do not know exactly how coronavirus spreads from person to person. Similar viruses are spread in cough droplets. It’s very unlikely it can be spread through things like packages or food.
Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
It is also possible through:
- person to person contact such as shaking hands or transferring money
- contact with surfaces where the virus is present (although this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads)
- One or more of the above methods followed by the subsequent touching of the nose, mouth and / or face
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/transmission.html
Recognition of vulnerable groups
Our client base has the following vulnerable groups considered to be high risk:
- aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
- under 70 with an underlying health condition (see list on link below)
- those who are pregnant
Source: Guidance on social distancing for everyone in the UK
The remainder of our client base, who do not fall directly into these groups above, are likely to have regular contact with one of more of those groups through their daily lives. Therefore we recognise all clients as potentially high risk and will treat all people as such. Our measures outlined below will apply to all clients and people you may come in contact with day to day.
Action plan for working throughout the pandemic
Following ongoing advice from the UK government we as a company will be introducing the following procedures to limit our client base to potential exposure to Coronavirus COVID19.
- We will always cover our mouths and noses with a tissue or our sleeves (not our hands) when we cough or sneeze.
- Washing our hands and using liquid hand soap. We will as a company ensure we have adequate hand washing facilities and liquid hand soap for our team members.
- Hand washing will take place upon arrival before work commences and on completion of a job site.
- Hand washing will also take place before eating, drinking or if applicable smoking / vaping.
- Vehicle & equipment cleaning and disinfection.
- Vehicles will be kept generally clean as possible with reduced litter, food waste and general dirt.
- All points of hand contact will be cleaned daily with spray disinfectant to include door handles, steering wheel and controls, gear and brake levers, storage boxes, window openers.
- Equipment used that day will be wiped over with disinfectant following the usual washing / cleaning procedures.
- All staff will travel when possible in separate vehicles, if staff need to travel together no more than 2 people to a vehicle and face masks must be worn.
- Work gloves have all been replaced with new gloves with the users initial marked on the glove with indelible ink. No sharing or swapping of gloves will be allowed.
- Not accepting drinks from customers. We love a cuppa but for the foreseeable future we will live without accepting a cup of tea or coffee from our client base. We will bring our own provisions including drinks and food.
- Where feasible we will use local toilet facilities and avoid using our client’s toilets / bathrooms to limit potential surface transmission.
- Social distancing and reducing direct contact.
- We like to talk but from now on we will chat about your garden or your project from a distance.
- As far as feasibly possible discussions about your garden or trees will be carried out by email or phone.
- Where discussions on site are required we will do it at the recommended three paces apart and forgive us but we will be avoiding shaking hands.
- Site meetings and face to face discussions about new work will be carried out with the above recommendations in place. We will where possible carry out conversations by phone or email but recognise that discussions about trees and gardens are difficult to have without being on site!
- All payments are to be made by bank transfer only. We do not accept cash anyway but for the duration of the pandemic we will not be accepting cheques for payment. If you have problems paying by bank transfers please contact us and we will discuss options available.
- And finally if one of our team does contract the virus they will be removed from active work duties and we will be ensuring they self-isolate immediately. At that point in time we will risk assess the potential exposure to others and act accordingly to protect our customers and everyone around us.
- In addition to these measures outlined above all staff must follow current NHS advice found here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Stay safe and we wish you all well during this difficult and unprecedented time.
All guidance shown here is sourced from government websites and media combined together with our own dynamic risk assessment and is under constant review. Further bulletins and updates will follow if the advice or restrictions imposed by the government change over the coming weeks / months. For anyone who uses these guidelines for their own business you do so at your own risk and you should adjust them to the requirements of your day to day operations, staff and company policy.