Safe salon passes Covid-19 spot inspection
By Alex Fox | 21 August 2020 | Movers & Shakers, News
The team at Ivy House Nails & Beauty in Bingley, West Yorkshire, shares with Scratch’s Alex Fox, how they navigated a spot check on their safety strategies by proactive council inspectors in Bingley…
The industry is a cacophony of noise as techs navigate their PPE needs and salon safe strategies, while exchanging views in Facebook forums where contradictory advice is being proffered. With debate surrounding the contentious idea of regulating the nail and beauty industry being reignited, the hot topic appears to be the PPE-savvy and safe salons versus others that are not completely invested in the current government guidelines.
With all this confusion being bandied around, it’s refreshing to hear that Bradford Council has a proactive stance and is spot checking businesses across Bingley Town Centre.
Keen to find out what a Covid spot check inspection entails, Scratch invited Nicola Flaherty, co-owner of Ivy House Nails & Beauty in Bingley, to explain, “The actual inspection was just 10 minutes in the salon and five minutes outside assessing the front,” Nicola shares. “I imagine, had the inspector been unhappy with anything, he would have stayed much longer, but he didn’t find anything to highlight or discuss regarding his examination.”
(L-R): Abi Gallucci, Nicola Flaherty (co-owner) & Sarah Lawton (co-owner)
Passing with flying colours, on what was her first inspection, CND™ educator ambassador Nicola, recalls, “He noted the salon Covid-19 precautions we’d put in place, made sure we donned full PPE and that clients were safe, he monitored the accessibility of the hand sanitisers and the hand washing facilities.
“He also checked that clients were all wearing masks. He was happy with our register for track and trace; a system whereby we request clients to sign in on arrival and then keep their details for 21 days before destroying.
“We passed the inspection and were told no improvement was required since we had gone above and beyond requirements. This was a relief, in fact we were thrilled with the outcome, since we have put a lot of thought, effort, time and work into implementing our new salon procedures, as we want all clients and the team to feel safe and secure.
“Interestingly, we weren’t even asked for our risk assessment, as he could see we had implemented all necessary procedures and have the ‘Staying Covid-19 Secure in 2020’ certificate displayed in our window.”
Walking me through the client journey, Nicola reveals, “When a client arrives they are already wearing their mask. We take their temperature and put their belongings into a sanitised box, which stays with them throughout the service. They then wash their hands using a nail brush, and return to fill out any necessary paperwork with a clean, sanitised pen.
“Next, we seat them for their treatment; each client has their own individual files, which are kept in individual boxes, so we can reuse them when they return. We wear full PPE; mask, gloves, apron and visor. These are all disposed of after each client, except the visors, which are sanitised between each one.”
