Massage clinics flouting safety over Covid-19
MASSAGE therapists are flouting government guidelines and risking the spread of Covid-19 by offering treatments, a training school has warned.
The Glasgow School of Massage said it had been asked for recommendations of therapists “currently practising” and had been made aware of some already offering treatments.
The body that represents massage therapists in Scotland, the SMTO, has said that no complementary practitioners should be seeing clients because it is not possible to observe the two metre distancing restriction and insurance policies will not be valid.
It has estimated that it could be mid-August before massage therapists are given the green light to begin offering treatments.
Other practitioners who use ‘touch therapy’ such as physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors have not – at any point – told by the UK government to stop practising. However, all governing bodies have advised them not to for insurance purposes.
A spokeswoman for the Maryhill-based, Glasgow School of Massage, said: “Massage is not a treatment/service that can observe two metre distance or an essential service. Any member therapists going against advice will not be insured and shouldn’t be practicing.
“We await guidance from our governing bodies, and the government but in the meantime, all massage business should remain closed, not providing face to face services.”
The SMTO has issued new guidelines to its 900 plus members today which detail what they may be required to do to ensure the safety of clients. They include carrying out a deep clean of premises, wearing masks and exercising caution with clients who have underlying health conditions or who are elderly.
Lorna Forrester, chairwoman of the SMTO, said: “Currently, in Scotland we are in lockdown, so no Complementary Therapists should be working. To do so is to put themselves and all their clients at risk of catching and spreading COVID-19, as therapists cannot socially distance.”
Daniel Gerber, who has practised as an osteopath for more than 20 years in the West End, said he had been contacted by clients asking for appointments but refused and said it had been difficult in some cases for those who were in obvious pain.
He said: “We are in a unique position as healing people, so it’s been a moral dilemma for me.”