Re-Opening after Lockdown 2.0 and Availability, Including Christmas and New Year

I am available for appointments from Wednesday the 2nd of December. Those on my mailing list have received information on how to book and a link to my online booking service. If you are not on my mailing list, contact me and I will email this to you.

Despite having reduced our infection levels to half the National average, Lancaster District will be, with the rest of Lancashire, going back into Tier 3 - the highest Tier of restrictions. However Close Contact Services / Personal Care - which Holistic Therapies are classed as - will be permitted in all Tiers in all areas of the UK, so I will be able to open for all treatments, as previously adapted to be compliant with Government and Industry Covid-19 Guidance and my Risk Assessment.

I hope you will feel confident to come for a treatment if you need one in December, and that it will still be a relaxed and enjoyable experience. Here's some links which go through the changes that are in place to keep you and I safe:

Summary of Holistyx Covid-19 Infection Control Measures
Summary of Holistyx Safety Procedures for Clients

If you are thinking of buying a gift voucher, please see Holistyx Gift Vouchers 

Lockdown 2.0 - Is it Possible to Provide Treatments During Lockdown?

Holistyx closed on Thursday 5th November 2020 under advice from Federation of Holistic Therapists that all Massage Therapists and Holistic Centres were required to do so. 

However, it then came to my attention that in 

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 
p32, Part 3, Businesses permitted to stay open are listed as: 
47. Dental services, opticians, audiology services, chiropody, chiropractors, osteopaths and other medical or health services, including services relating to mental health.

I am listed for all therapies I practice on the FHT Complementary Healthcare Therapist Register, which has been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, a body accountable to Parliament. 

So I should be allowed to open, and various Professional Associations have discussed this clause with BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and received conformation that under certain circumstances, Massage and other Therapeutic Services will be recognised as permitted. However, there is some disagreement within the Complementary Healthcare sector (eg between different Professional Associations) about how to interpret this legislation, and what the criteria are. 

Stone Therapy: Hot Stone Massage Testimonials

Stone Therapy is something I had only introduced shortly before the first lockdown this year, and didn't yet at that time have a full page of information about on my website.

I have since created a page explaining what it is, and the benefits of working with hot - and also cold - stones. If interested, you can check that out here - Stone Therapy: Hot and Cold Stone Massage.

Its been really great to introduce this treatment to some of my regular clients and see how much they have enjoyed it.

Covid-19 Measures Reassuring, Aromatherapy Massage Relaxing

Appointments now available.

Holistyx is open again, and bookings are now available for Swedish / Holistic Massage, Aromatherapy Massage, Indian Head Massage, Hot Stone Massage, Pregnancy and Post-Natal Massage and Aromatherapy, and Reflexology. Would you like to book in for some time out to relieve tension, balance and restore your energies and gain a real sense of relaxation and wellbeing?

I initially contacted those whose appointments were cancelled at lockdown, to give them priority to re-book, and then I contacted those who had told me they were wanting to have an appointment when I reopened. I have now contacted everyone who has been to me previously who is on my emailing list. 

In order to re-open while Covid-19 is still with us, it has been necessary to put in place a lot of changes in order for Holistyx to be compliant with Government and Professional Association guidance, and to make things as safe as possible for myself and my clients.

Please read Covid-19 Infection Control Measures carefully before contacting me about booking. 

Re-opening

Holistyx will shortly be contacting *only* those clients whose appointments were cancelled in March, April, and May due to the Pandemic, offering them appointments through a new online booking system, and slowly starting to work again with many new safety measures and procedures in place.

When those clients have had some time to get first priority for appointments, booking will then become available for all former clients who had requested appointments during closure, then all that have been previously to Holistyx.

There is no estimate at present of when appointments will be available to new clients.

Closed Until Further Notice #stayhomesavelives

The sharper rise in coronavirus / Covid-19 cases and death rate than the government and its advisors expected; the bringing in of further measures, ie the closure of schools; and the advice of a trusted friend and colleague who used to work in Public Health, brought me to the point this week where I could no longer in good conscience stay open and make any contribution at this crucial time to people being in contact with others more than absolutely necessary. 

No matter how good my hygiene measures, I cannot do my therapies from the 2 metre / 6 1/2 foot distance that avoids this extremely infectious virus being passed on - and we now know it is at its most infectious before people develop symptoms and some people do not develop any symptoms at all. 

I am sure you have been following this on the news and seeing the governments announcements, but just to reiterate - please restrict physical contact with others as much as you can, keep washing your hands, and avoiding touching your face, in order to slow down the spread of this disease, which has crippled the capacity of health services in Italy and Spain. The slower it spreads, the less people will die due to lack of ventilators for post-viral pneumonia. 

Find ways to look after your physical and mental health, to deal with stress and anxiety and keep your immune system strong. I am sorry my services won't be available to support you in that. As difficult as it is, I feel this is the best thing I can do for the health and safety of my clients, our whole community, and all the people our community is connected to all over the world.

PS On Friday 20th March, 2 days after my decision to close on Wednesday 18th March,  the government asked all 'spas, wellbeing centres and massage parlours' to close. Not the clearest wording but my professional association the FHT confirmed that meant all of us, sports, complementary and beauty therapists. 

Availability 2020 and how to contact me

Having been so booked up last year that I had to close to new clients for a few months, things have now settled down so my availability is much better - I usually have a weekday daytime appointment available within 3 weeks, occasionally within 2. However, if you need an evening or Saturday appointment it is likely to be a month or more.

The best ways to contact me are by text or by email (including using my contact form) - you will get a quicker reply.

However I have now sorted out the phone signal issues at my premises, (by buying a Mobile Wi-Fi router that can pick up network data by my door, and send Wi-Fi to my phone, which I can use via Wi-Fi calling which is enabled on my new phone!!) so if you leave me a message, I will call you back.