May 12, 2020 - Medical tourism in the corona age. Bagatin Clinic's inspirational CEO Ognjen Bagatin on how his award-winning clinic is serving its clients safely in the new reality.
It seems an age since I was in Berlin in early December watching Ognjen Bagatin and Andrea Stipanic of Bagatin Clinic take the stage at the International Medical Travel Journal awards for Best International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic 2019.
Although it was less than six months ago, such a lot has happened since then that it really does seem iike a different era.
But some things never change, and that includes Ognjen Bagatin's positivity and determination to succeed and offer his customers the very best.
Bagatin Clinic opened its doors on May 4 after the recent lockdown, and Ognjen found time to explain how procedures will work at Bagatin Clinic for the moment, as well as this excellent video explanation.
The safety and health of our clients and patients and all of our medical and non-medical staff, has always been our primary concern.
In addition to this priority, since January, our specially constituted Expert Committee has been closely monitoring the situation with the cornoravirus (COVID-19), communicating daily with the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia and thoroughly following the instructions of the World Health Organization.
Transparency of information within the Clinic, additional education and, above all, the personal responsibility of our employees, has resulted in our readiness for all the challenges that have come before us, but also for those who are yet to come.
For security reasons, and following the recommendation of the competent authorities, we closed Bagatin Clinic for one month. It was a very difficult decision, but I know it was primarily the right decision.
And now, with the security measures being mitigated and with a very optimistic health situation in our beautiful Croatia, with a big smile on my face, I can announce the reopening of the Clinic.
On May 4th, our doors have reopened!
Of course, there is simply no room for relaxation in this fight against the invisible enemy. We still have to think first and foremost about your and our safety. Therefore, we have adopted new rules of business and laid down basic measures that we will follow in our daily work. And I invite all of you to be cooperative and responsible as well.
We continue to follow all the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Medical Chamber, the Croatian Chamber of Dental Medicine and the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
Allow me to present to you all the additional safety measures and hygiene protocols in Bagatin Clinic which have been implemented for the purpose of protecting all of us form the disease caused by the COVID-19.
- While setting up and confirming appointments, our contact centre operators go through a set of questions with each client so that we can identify potential health and/or infection risks. These questions are related to trips to at-risk areas in the last 14 days, contacts with persons infected with COVID-19, whether they have been self-isolated or quarantined for the past 14 days, and whether they have had a fever or a respiratory problem in the last 14 days.
- Prior to arrival, we inform the patient, by phone, of the protocols required to arrive at the Bagatin Clinic locations, and instruct clients / patients to come unaccompanied and with their own face mask.
- At the entrance door of each of our locations, patients and clients are provided with information on preventative measures to protect against COVID-19.
- At the entrance to the premises of the Clinic, a bactericidal and viricidal barrier is provided for the patient's footwear (a fabric soaked with disinfectant that changes every 3 hours).
- Upon entrance, it is obligatory to disinfect hands with the provided disinfectant agents. The product is also available in all the toilets, encouraging patients and clients to disinfect their hands after each new contact with different surfaces.
- We regularly and continuously keep our premises clean and disinfected, and pay special attention to the surfaces with which employees and clients are most often in contact: door handles, worktops, POS appliances, customer toilet, faucets, handrails, waiting areas.
- In addition, sufficient time is provided between patient appointments to allow for additional disinfection and sterilization of the premises, and the movement of clients and healthcare staff across the Clinic's premises is minimized.
- The extended pause between appointments also ensures a reduced fluctuation of clients and patients in the waiting room and allows for the social distancing rules to be followed, that is, close contact is avoided and the distance of at least 2 meters is maintained.
- The reception area is separated by a Plexiglas barrier and the reception staff is additionally protected by disposable gloves and face masks.
- Our health care professionals use all necessary protective equipment in their work and have received additional training in the proper use of personal protective equipment: FFP3 / N95 masks, disposable sterile or non-sterile gloves (depending on the type of procedure), transparent safety glasses or visors for personnel wearing prescription glasses, surgical cap and disposable coat.
- After each client and patient, the utensils, appliances and instruments are thoroughly disinfected and sterilized or disposed of, and the rooms and offices are regularly ventilated.
- Operating rooms and dental surgeries are equipped with UV lamps with ozone of adequate strength according to the quadrature of the space, which ensure disinfection and sterilization of the entire surface.
We will do everything in our power to ensure you a comfortable and safe stay at Bagatin Clinic with, of course, the first-rate service you are accustomed to. We are at your disposal for any questions, concerns, advice, even fears…
We invite you to be responsible toward yourself and others. Please be considerate of the new situation and respect the measures that are there to protect the health of all of us. We can only do this together!
The doors to your favourite beauty destinations in Zagreb and Split have been open since May 4th.
I look forward to seeing you!
Ognjen Bagatin
CEO of Bagatin Clinic
You can learn more about the services of Bagatin Clinic on the official website.
For more on the Croatian medical tourism story, follow the dedicated TCN section.
