We've had a very quiet few weeks over March, April and May so far, where we have not been visiting any occupied homes or buildings. As of today, 13th May 2020, some aspects of the restrictions have been 'relaxed' and Surveyors and Surveying firms are being encouraged to start the journey of returning to providing our Professional Services.
We will being doing this carefully and considerately to ensure we protect our clients, protect the occupants of buildings that we visit and of course to protect ourselves in our office and homes.
We will not 'force' anyone to allow us to visit their home or other building. Everything we do will be with the mutual agreement from everyone who may be affected.
Guidance has been set-out for the way that we can do this. The steps that will usually be needed when working in homes are as follows:
No work will be carried out in a household which is isolating because one or more family members has symptoms or where an individual has been advised to shield - unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household.
When working in a household where somebody is clinically vulnerable, but has not been asked to shield, for example, the home of someone over 70, prior arrangements will be made with those vulnerable people to avoid any face-to-face contact, for example, when answering the door. We will be particularly strict about handwashing, coughing and sneezing hygiene, such as covering the nose and mouth and disposing of single-use tissues.
We will be staying updated with the latest guidance and considering how it can be applied to our work. This can include: – washing our hands more often than usual for 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing the nose – reducing the spread of germs when coughing or sneezing by covering the mouth and nose with a tissue, or a sleeve (not hands) if not having a tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately, then washing hands – cleaning regularly touched objects and surfaces using our regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people – communicating with households prior to any visit to discuss how the work will be carried out to minimise risk for all parties – maintaining social distance as far as possible
