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Patients face temperature checks and ‘skeleton service’ as dentists reopen
June 9, 2020
Patients face temperature checks and ‘skeleton service’ as dentists reopen
People in need of urgent dental treatment faced a “skeleton service” and strict new safety measures as some dentists reopened after 12 weeks in lockdown.
Dentists in Norfolk began a phased reopening from June 8 with new coronavirus measures in place. Picture: NHS
Patients, some who have been nursing painful or discomforting problems, were finally able to see a dentist at some practises in Norfolk from Monday but many were not able to offer a full range of treatments.
The British Dental Association (BDA) warned there will be no return to “business as usual” as practices prioritise patients in the most urgent need of treatment and introduce strict social distancing and hygiene rules.
At Diss Dental Health Centre, which was amongst those to reopen on Monday, patients had to undergo a phone risk assessment before a face-to-face appointment.
Dr Gautam Sharma, of the West Earlham Dental Practice in Norwich. Picture: Submitted
They are required to wear a mask and to wait outside before being called in to undergo a temperature check and to sanitise their hands.
Riverside Dental Practice in Norwich plans to reopen on June 11 but patients will have their temperature taken with anyone above 37.8°C not being treated.
Dr Bim Sawhney, clinical director and practice owner, said: “The vast majority of our patients are otherwise healthy without coronavirus infection and we are confident that we are able to provide normal dental care for these patients in as normal an environment as possible while bearing in mind our responsibilities to mitigate risks of infection spread as far as is practically possible.
“This policy will be constantly reviewed and updated as necessitated by circumstances over time.”
Rachel Webb, director of primary care and public health for NHS England in the East of England, said: “Practices will look quite different, as measures have been put in place to provide a safe environment for dental services.
“These precautions will mean that clinicians will not be able to work as quickly as usual.”
Dr Gautam Sharma, of the West Earlham Dental Practice in Norwich, which aims to reopen from June 22, said the practice had about 150 patients needing to be seen on an urgent basis, before any new daily emergencies, but expected to treat about 10 to 15 a day when it reopens.
He said: “I think it is really important that we let the public know what is going to be a new normal where we have been closed for nearly two and a half months.
“There are thousands of appointments that we have had to cancel, but it is really important that we start to see our urgent care patients who have had a lot of pain or problems.”
Some patients in Norfolk said they feared they may face further waits as the backlog of urgent cases is cleared.
David Bowden, from Dereham, said: “I lost a front crown shortly after lockdown. Luckily it hasn’t been painful, so I’m not sure it will be seen as urgent. I might be left waiting a few more weeks.”
Maree Lynn Woodcock said: “I have been left with holes in my teeth as was in the middle of treatment and had an infection 10 weeks ago and I have been in pain since.
“I phoned my dentist and was told to buy filler from Boots as they wouldn’t be doing work on teeth for a long time.”
The original article can be found here.
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In line with government and official infection control policies, our “standard operating procedure” will be maintained for the foreseeable future with no immediate changes on July 19th 2021. To remind those that are not already aware, the significant points of this operating protocol are: - Covid screening prior to your appointment upon booking and immediately before your appointment and before entering the building. Temperature checks and hand sanitising gel upon entering the building. We do not have toilet facilities for patient use, so please use the toilet at home prior to your visit as much as you can! MANDATORY use of facemasks in the building until you are in the surgery room (this is to minimise risk of possible infection to other people such as non-clinical staff members and other patients in areas such as corridors and reception). Exceptions will be made if you are medically exempt. Full PPE for clinical staff for any dental procedures that generate aerosols. As many of you are now used to, we look a little bit different to how we used to! This is to protect not only ourselves but also to minimise the risk of transmitting Covid to others. Waiting rooms are currently out of use. This is to minimise the number of people in the building at any one time which in turn helps minimise the risk of transmission between people. Thank you for your cooperation
Face-to-face appointments restart from 22nd June 2020 with extra anti-virus measures in place, on top of our usual stringent cross infection controls, to keep you and our team safe. Due to the high volume of calls we are experiencing; we ask for you to make contact only if you are in pain or your dental concern is of an urgent nature. Our priorotu is to treat these patients in the first instance. If you require an appointment please email us at smiles@westearlhamdental.co.uk or contact us via the website and we will call you back as soon as possible to discuss your concerns.
We are open, and the team are available to you on the phones to help. Due to guidance and the safety of our team and patients we have decided like the majority of practices to stop seeing patients under guidance from the NHS and the Government. If you wish to contact a member of the team, please feel free to phone or email us. Be safe, follow the government guidelines and we look forward to seeing you again when this situation resolves.
With the announcement stating we are able to open from the 8th June, we have yet to be provided with operational guidance in order to treat our patients in a safe manner as well as prepare for the safety of our team. For this reason and until further notice we are continuing to triage over the phone and unable to book in appointments. Please keep checking our website and Facebook page for further communications as we will be updating these regularly. We look forward to welcoming you back to the practice soon. Best wishes, Gautam and Team
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