Important urgent update from 8th June 2020

Dear patients

Following the recent announcement that dental practices will be allowed to open from 8th June 2020. We would like to provide you with the following information:

New guidelines mean we are unable to operate as we did pre covid-19.

We are working hard to make the necessary changes throughout the practice. Safety to our staff and patients is our priority and we appreciate your understanding whilst we implement these changes to adhere to latest and evolving guidelines.

Social distancing measures, enhanced cross infection, decontamination procedures and revised PPE requirements will result in our ability to see a reduced number of patients on a daily basis.

In keeping with the current advice from the regulatory bodies and patient safety, the procedures we are currently able to offer are limited.

We will initially focus on treating those patients who require urgent dental care and the patients who are in the midst of treatment. This means we will only be able to arrange these face to face appointments when we are confident it is safe to do so. Once we have ensured that we are able to safely increase our capacity to see patients we will begin booking routine dental appointments and treatment for all patients. Hence your current routine appointments from 8th June onwards are still on hold till further notice unless of-course you need urgent care in which case please do call the practice.

During these unprecedented times we would like to thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

If we have arranged an appointment for you please read the "attending your appointment" section and the covid "information leaflet" attached below before your visit. We would request you to sign the information leaflet on you arrival, unless you can print/sign it and bring it with you to save time.

Thank you for reading. Please fell free to call us if you have any questions

Stay safe

The White House Dental Practice

Attending your appointment:

​Please do not attend the practice if you have a high temperature, a new cough or a new loss of taste or smell or have been in contact with anyone who has.

We ask you to adhere to government social distancing guidelines during your visit.

Due to restrictions of our building we ask you to attend your appointment alone and with essential belongings only. If your child has an appointment only one adult may attend with them. We have limited space within the practice and social distancing is paramount to minimise the risk of coronavirus spread.

Toilet facilities are available if absolutely necessary however you must inform a member of staff if you require the use of these. This is to ensure a safe journey throughout the building and that appropriate disinfection measures can be taken after use. Please do not move throughout the building unaccompanied.

Unfortunately we are no longer able to offer the use of the drinking water machine and all reading literature has been removed as per the guidance.

The entrance/exit of the the building will remain locked.  You will be requested to wait outside the building until your appointment. Please do not arrive too early, as we have staggered appointment times to reduce the risk of unnecessary contact.

On attending, a member of staff will take your temperature (using non-contact thermometer), if your temperature is high (above 37.8 degrees Celsius) you will be asked to return home and follow government isolation guidelines. Unfortunately we will not be able to proceed with your appointment. However if you need urgent treatment a referral to urgent dental centre will be considered.

You will be required and requested to use the hand sanitiser provided.

Information leaflet for Dental Care during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is placing huge demands on the entire health service and is changing the way we work. This leaflet is to make you aware that your dental care is likely to be affected.

Delay

It is likely that your planed routine check up will be delayed, possibly for several weeks because efficiency has been reduced by the increased precautions now necessary for all patients

We are prioritising clinic lists so that if you need a review as an emergency this will not be delayed

Risks

Your dentist will discuss the risks and benefits of the treatment with you, but it is important to understand that there are specific risks during the coronavirus pandemic that you must also think about.

Coming into any healthcare setting including a dental surgery may increase your risk of contracting COVID-19 as you will come into contact with members of staff and/or patients who could unknowingly be carrying coronavirus. Equally you could be infected, but not showing symptoms.

The surgery has put in lots of measures to reduce the risk to patients and staff including:

Reducing the number of people in our surgery to help prevent the spread to patients/staff

Our staff are provided with appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) which helps prevent the infection moving from person to person

We have introduced social distancing in areas where we can

our practice follows the current national guidance

Changes to the process

Before your appointment

The added risks of getting coronavirus will be discussed and in some cases this may change treatment options.

Individual decision

We recognise that, knowing these additional risks, you may not want to proceed with your appointment or treatment at this time. If you decide to delay your treatment, your dentist will inform you of the risks of not proceeding and any alternative treatments that they may be able to offer you.

If you do decide not to proceed at this time, but still want your treatment/appointment at a later date, we will note this in our records and try our best to arrange it for a later date.

If you do decide to continue with your treatment , we would like you to take additional precautions.

If you do have covid symptoms, have been in contact with someone else that does, we will unfortunately have to delay your treatment if the risks of proceeding outweigh the benefit of having your treatment or consider a referral to urgent dental centre.

Obviously if your symptoms or decision change please feel free to contact the practice and we can discuss all possible options.

I have read the above information, had a chance to discuss it and am happy to proceed with my appointment/treatment.

Name and signature of the patient

Date