As you may have seen in the media over the last 48hours, pressure has been put onto our professional regulators to provide clarity over what we are able to do as a dental practice in this unique period.
Unfortunately the information that was released earlier today has only partially helped clarify the situation but it has given us a starting point to work from. It does mean we have to make a few adjustments to the practice for the forceable future until told otherwise.
- We shall be reducing any routine appointments (e.g. check ups) for any patients who are over 70 or are a high risk category. Should any patient within these groups have a dental emergency we shall look to find an suitable appointment which will minimise their possible exposure to any virus transmission.
- At present, we have been advised that we are still able to continue with many straightforward treatments for patients who are not within one of the risk groups highlighted above.
- We have been advised to reduce certain procedures carried out within the practice to help reduce the risk of transmission to our staff/dentists and also patients. We will be evaluating our appointment book and will contact any patients who have an appointment which can be delayed in order to rearrange their appointments.
In addition to this we have modified the layout waiting room of the practice to try and maximise possible social distancing for patients within the practice.
With the announced school closures next week and because there are several members of our practice with young children, it does mean we have been forced to modify our appointment book for the practice. It will mean that our clinicians will begin to work on a rota system to allow us to be open all week as normal, but it will mean that our dentists will be working different days/hours to normal within the practice.
As we are sure your aware, this is a fast and constantly evolving situation, so we shall continue to post with further updates as we have more information.