Coronavirus Updates
Dear Patients
IMPORTANT UPDATE 01/06/2020
OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO PREPARE TO BE ABLE TO SEE
PATIENTS AGAIN. IT HAS BEEN A VERY CHALLENGING TIME FOR EVERYONE AND I WOULD
LIKE TO APPLAUD YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING. SITTING IN THE SURGERY TREATING
PATIENTS OVER THE PHONE HAS BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING FOR THE DENTISTS ALSO.
WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF DENTAL OFFICER THE DAY AFTER IT WAS ANNOUNCED
ON THE BBC THAT WE MAY START TO SEE PATIENTS FACE TO FACE AGAIN. WE WOULD LIKE
TO RETURN TO SEEING ALL OUR PATIENTS AS SOON AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, BUT DUE TO THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC CONTINUING WITH A STABLE BUT HIGH INCIDENCE RATE (EVEN
THOUGH THE R RATE IS BELOW 1), WE WILL HAVE TO WORK UNDER NEW CONDITIONS TO
KEEP YOU AND THE STAFF SAFE.
WHEN YOU COME TO SEE US FOR YOUR APPOINTMENTS YOU WILL NOTICE MANY CHANGES FROM A PRE-VISIT
CALL TO THE SETUP OF THE SURGERY.
OUR AIMS ARE ALWAYS TO MANAGE PAIN, TREAT DISEASE AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE. THIS WILL
DETERMINE THE WAY WE WILL MOVE TOWARDS A RETURN TO A NORMAL PRE-CORONAVIRUS
SERVICE. THERE ARE TWO LIMITING FACTORS TO THE SPEED WITH WHICH WE CAN DO THIS.
FIRSTLY, THE SMOOTH AND CONTINUOUS SUPPLY OF PPE (I HAVE BEEN IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH ALL
MAJOR SUPPLIERS AND HAVE MOST PPE, BUT DUE TO SUPPLIERS UNDERSTANDABLY
DIVERTING ALL SUPPLIES OF FFP3 MASKS ESPECIALLY TO HOSPITALS THERE IS A HUGE
STRAIN ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN).
SECONDLY, THE NEW OPERATING PROTOCOLS UNDER CORONAVIRUS, SEVERELY LIMIT THE PATIENT
NUMBERS WE CAN SEE ESPECIALLY THOSE NEEDING AEROSOL GENERATING PROCEDURES (AGPs-
SCALING AND DRILLING) THE MOST DANGEROUS UNDER CURRENT CONDITIONS. THESE CAN
REQUIRE UP TO AN HOUR BETWEEN PATIENTS.
WE HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL WORK TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS WITH INFECTION CONTROL AND THESE HAVE BEEN INDEPENDENTLY MONITORED, BUT CORONAVIRUS BEING A RESPIRATORY DISEASE BRINGS NEW
CHALLENGES WHICH WE WILL OVERCOME.
AS A PRIVATE INSTITUTION IT IS ALSO IN OUR INTEREST THAT WE MOVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO
PROVIDING ALL SERVICES IN THE SAFEST ENVIRONMENT.
Dr A Waheed
(Principal Dentist)
PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are
looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things
have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen
this during your visits to our surgery. Our infection control processes are
made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to
tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to
keep patients and staff safe.
Our practice follows infection control guidelines made by the governing bodies. We are
up-to-date on new guidance that has been issued. We do this to make sure that
our infection control procedures are current and adhere to recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes
to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
• Our practice will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again at your appointment
• We have hand sanitiser that we will ask you to use when you enter the practice. You will also find some in the
reception area and other places in the practice for you to use as needed.
• We no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and
disinfect
• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for
you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
How you can help:
• With the exception of children and patients with carers, patients should come alone
• A distance of at least 2 metres must be observed if another patient is present in the dental practice
• Payment should be made by card where possible
• Staff will not shake your hand
• If you show symptoms following appointment booking, you should contact the practice by phone
• Please do not arrive early to the practice. If necessary, you should wait outside the practice
• Please do not arrive without an appointment
• Patients should come wearing a mask if possible.
Emergency Care
If you have an emergency please call the practice during normal opening hours.
The receptionist will do an initial triage and take your details, you will then receive a consultation call from the dentist who will help you (please be aware that the care we are able to give is strictly in line with NHS England guidance).
The treatment you can access presently has been risk assessed by NHS England and takes into account the risk to you and dental staff to Coronavirus.
The following problems are under current guidelines considered non-urgent and do not require an emergency appointment:
· Loose or lost crowns, bridges or veneers
· Fractured or loose dentures
· Fractured, loose or displaced fillings
· Chipped teeth with no pain
· Loose wires
· Bleeding gums
Is attending an emergency appointment safe for you and others?
If you or anyone in your house is self-isolating, do not book an emergency appointment. If you are experiencing any symptoms, like a continuous cough or a high temperature, do not book an emergency appointment. If you suspect you may have or you do have coronavirus and you have a dental emergency please call 111, as there are specialist centres to treat coronavirus patients.
Do I need emergency treatment?
Don’t take any unnecessary risks. If you’re experiencing a dental problem, these questions will help you decide if you need to call for urgent treatment.
Bleeding
1. Is this following a tooth extraction? If yes, have you bitten on the gauze provided for 30-40 minutes?
If you haven’t, there’s no need to book yet
If you have, call us
2. Is it your gums that are bleeding? If yes, this is not urgent and there is no need to book
3. Was the bleeding caused by a blow or other trauma to your mouth? If yes, call us
Swelling
1. Have you noticed any swelling around the tooth or can it be seen on the outside of your face? If yes, call us
2. Does the swelling extend to your eye/neck? If yes, call us
3. Is the swelling affecting your vision, your breathing or is it preventing you from opening your mouth more than two fingers wide? If yes to any of these, go straight to A&E
Trauma
1. Has the trauma caused you to experience any loss of consciousness, blurred vision or vomiting? If yes to any of these, go straight to A&E and call the practice
Pain
1. Is the pain making it hard to eat or affecting your sleep? If yes, call us
PLEASE ALSO CHECK OUT THESE USEFUL LINKS
Contact Details
Address:
Friars Street Dental Practice
26 Friars Street
Sudbury
Suffolk
CO10 2AA
Tel:
01787 372401
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