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 

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.  

Now Accepting New Clients

Over the last 10 days I have worked my way one at a time down my list of people who contacted me when I was closed to new clients, giving them first chance to book in. Having done that I still have 2 spaces in May and 13 in June. So get in touch if you would like to book in with me. 

A heads up - I am not sure how long I will be open to new clients - if I again start to get so booked up its difficult for my regulars to get appointments I will close again and go back to having a waiting list.  

Closing To New Clients For A While

Apologies for any disappointment. I am fully booked for February and March and have ongoing clients I need to prioritise as I start taking bookings for April.

If you would like me to text or email you when I reopen to new clients, just text me on 07888 692803 or email me at Holistyx@gmail.com saying "Inform when open to new clients please".

🗓️ Appointment Availability - Ongoing Clients - New Clients

December is now fully booked and the first week of January is also not available (though 1 or 2 days may be added nearer the time)  I would encourage ongoing clients who would like an appointment in early January to get yourself booked in now.

Some of my regular clients have missed getting an appointment in December, so I am doing a short closure to new clients to prioritise getting my ongoing clients booked in.

Wanting to book as someone who has been to me before?
- I usually allow bookings up to 2 calendar months ahead. I am for a short time letting clients who have previously been to me stretch that by an extra week. Ie today, 12th Nov, you can book up to 19th Jan.

Wanting to book as a new client?
- Please get in touch again on or after Thursday 22nd Nov, I am expecting to be ok to start adding new people in to my January diary from then.

Hope that all makes sense. If in doubt, just ask!

I am now once again open to booking in new clients

I stopped accepting new clients for a couple of months. I was reducing how far ahead I take bookings (it was up to 3 months, its now up to 2) and decided to not take any new clients while I saw how that worked out and to make sure I had enough appointments available to meet the needs of the clients I was already working with.

Its gone well, instead of being fully booked for 9 weeks I am now only fully booked for 5 weeks and with occasional spaces come up earlier as people have to cancel or reschedule. 

So, if you are interested in making an appointment with me, there is likely to be a wait for an appointment but if thats ok for you, do get in touch. 

Changes: Appointments Maximum 2 Months Ahead; No New Clients For Now.

For a long time I have been available for appointments 2-3 months ahead. All of eg July would become available on the 1st May, at which point a full 3 months was available to book, then this would reduce as I wouldn't take bookings for August until 1st June. I mostly was fully booked for 5-7 weeks. However I have been getting fully booked increasingly far ahead - and now I am fully booked for 9 weeks. I only have 2 appointments available, the last week of June. This lack of space and flexibility in my diary for 2 months ahead has been causing issues for myself and my clients.

The New System

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New system - from Wednesday 2nd May (I am off work on Tuesday 1st May) I am only going to book up to 2 calendar months ahead, on a rolling basis. July will become available one day at a time, so I am always only bookable 2 calendar months ahead. Ie, on 2nd May, 2nd July will be available. On the 3rd May, the 3rd July will be bookable, and so on.

While this settles in I am closing my diary to new clients, to prioritise my longstanding and regular clients - see below for details and and an explanation for why I am making these changes.

When Is Your Next Available Appointment?

I am usually fully booked up to around 5-7 weeks in advance. Book well in advance to avoid disappointment, particularly for those who need evening or weekend appointments. If you are only looking for a same day or next day appointment, this is highly unlikely to be available.

Please also see Short Notice Appointments: If you get a cancellation will you let me know? 

How Far Ahead Can I Book You?

Over the last year or so, I have been taking bookings up to a maximum of 3 calendar months ahead. I've decided to rein that in a bit.

From 1st April, I will open up my diary for bookings for the month of June.
From 1st May, I will open up my diary for bookings for the month of July.

So at the beginning of each month you can schedule 3 full months ahead with me. But then as we go through each month, it will just be to the end of that month + two months.

Not having my schedule fixed so far in advance will allow me a little more flexibility as opportunities come along. It will be fairer for those clients who don't know their schedule or when they want to come so far ahead. Plus it should reduce the amount of rescheduling needed as peoples plans change.

I hope this will work out better for most of us.

Short Notice Appointments: When You Get a Cancellation - Will You Let Me Know?

Due to people needing to cancel or reschedule, appointments are occasionally available at short notice. I keep a waiting list of people who have asked to be informed if something comes up. Do let me know if you would like to be added to it, and by all means any brief notes to add on which days and times you would, or would not, be interested in. Even though there are often several people on the list, as they all have different availability it is still worthwhile to be added if you are interested in short notice appointments.