Coronavirus &
how we continue to provide care.
As many are aware back in March of 2020 all dental practices were asked to close for all face to face contact by Department of Health, due to the uncertainties around transmission and to assist with the wider public health effort to combat Covid-19. We received a ‘preparedness letter’ from the Chief Dental Officer Sara Hurley on the morning of Thursday 28th May (dated 9 days previously), followed by notification that we would re-open on the 8th June, just before 6pm on the same day. It has become evident that the department of health had not consulted our professional bodies, had no guidance prepared on how we as practices could accomplish this, nor had made any provision for the extra pressures this would place on an already creaking supply chain.
We are currently doing all that we can to re-open fully, as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring the safety of both our patients and our staff. We have been taking phone calls, triaging patients with problems as well as maintaining our equipment and systems daily to ensure the practice is ready to reopen when safe to do so throughout the entire lockdown period. We are now in a position in which we can begin to see patients for not only emergency care, but routine care.
We will post updates on our Facebook page and into this tab on our website, and begin the process of getting in touch with patients whos appointments have been cancelled during the time we were closed for face to face contact. You can access our Facebook page via the link in the top right-hand corner of our website (the "F" icon).
Here we will be posting regular updates and keeping our patients informed. We are currently in the process of creating a video example to visually represent how we will be working and what to expect when attending your appointment.
We are currently doing all that we can to re-open fully, as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring the safety of both our patients and our staff. We have been taking phone calls, triaging patients with problems as well as maintaining our equipment and systems daily to ensure the practice is ready to reopen when safe to do so throughout the entire lockdown period. We are now in a position in which we can begin to see patients for not only emergency care, but routine care.
We will post updates on our Facebook page and into this tab on our website, and begin the process of getting in touch with patients whos appointments have been cancelled during the time we were closed for face to face contact. You can access our Facebook page via the link in the top right-hand corner of our website (the "F" icon).
Here we will be posting regular updates and keeping our patients informed. We are currently in the process of creating a video example to visually represent how we will be working and what to expect when attending your appointment.
how we will continue to provide dental care
The way in which the dental practice is going to be run will be different to before. We are in the process of automating systems to help mitigate any possible risks to staff and patients. This means we will contact you via email and you will be able to pay over the phone. We will be able to undertake video and telephone consultations prior to appointments if necessary. You will be able to update your contact details, medical changes, Covid-19 risk assessment and any other documentation online prior to attending your appointment. It is important we have your up to date email address so this process can be carried out. This is to reduce possible cross contamination while also thinking about the planet.
Please don't attend the practice without an appointment. If you need to speak to a member of our team, please do so via telephone or email. We can keep you updated via email, you can email the practice manager via:
helen@hornhilldentalpractice.co.uk
using the phrase "keep me updated" in the subject box of the email. This way we can notify you of any changes in relation to booking routine care.
Once you arrive at the practice whether by car or train (refer to "how to find us" page), we may have previously ask you to contact us via telephone to let us know you are ready to be seen, however, we have no erected a door bell. When you arrive for your appointment, if you ring the doorbell- a dental nurse will meet you in personal protective equipment and escort you in. The front entrance of the practice will remain locked throughout your appointment and at all times. As you would expect we will ask for you to use the hand gel available at reception. If possible please attend your appointment alone, if accompanying a child or an older relative please wear a face covering or mask whilst in the practice. Please avoid bringing unnecessary items into the dental practice with you. This could include mobile phones or any other electronics, bags and purses or large jackets that you would normally remove when in the dental chair. Although we do expect now the weather is worsening you may attend with a jacket, we ask that you bring in the bare minimum to your appointment.
We also ask that you use the toilet before attending the practice. Whilst our facilities do remain available, please inform a member of staff after using them so we know to add it to our decontamination procedure after you leave. If you do require the toilet, this will be decontaminated on your exit ready for the next patient or staff member to use.
On leaving your appointment the nurse that greeted you to begin with, will also escort you out of the practice, booking further appointments if necessary. We will give you the opportunity to use the hand gel once again. We can either escort you straight out of the practice and you can contact us when you get home to pay over the phone or through bank transfer (which is the preferred method of payment) or pay the nurse via credit / debit card at the practice when leaving. We understand that people may not own any of these payment methods therefor we can accept cash / cheques, and whilst these are not the preferred means of payment, they remain available as options.
We will contact you prior to your appointment with us to ensure you are still okay to attend and are showing no Covid-19 symptoms. We will go through a Covid-19 questionnaire with you prior to attending, this includes 10 questions and some advice when attending. If you are attending an appointment with us, we ask that you continue social distancing rules at all time.
The waiting areas are still available for patient use, as we sometimes run over schedule. We ask that (if you can) you wear a facial covering at all times while in the dental practice, until instructed otherwise by a dentist or nurse (when in a clean, decontaminated surgery). If you cant use a mask, we ask that you use strict social distancing measures. The waiting area chairs have been spread out for social distancing, and the sofas are available for support bubbles and family units only. Please no not sit with people who are not within your support bubble.
government advice
The current government advice is if you or anyone in your household has symptoms of the virus to self-isolate for 7 days. Symptoms include: fever, new loss of taste or smell, temperature, new continuous cough. If you feel you have any of these symptoms, please do not attend your appointments and let us know by giving the practice a call and speaking to a member of staff. If you are contacted by the new contact tracing service, please follow any advice they offer.
Continue to frequently wash your hands with soap and water to stop the infection from spreading. When you need to cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your sleeve (if you do not have a tissue). NOT your hand.
We appreciate that these are not easy times for anyone right now and we will continue to support and help anyone who needs it through this time while we return to the new "normal".
If you do not feel comfortable attending your dental appointments during this time or are classed as 'high risk' and choose to self isolate for the foreseeable, please do not push yourself to attend if you feel anxious in any way. We are here to offer you as much support as you need.
We can take phone call and video calls, answer your questions and provide you with advice. Feel free to contact us at any time if you need advice on dental pain or keeping on top of your dental hygiene. We have dentists and oral health advisers who can guide you in the right direction.
We wish you, your family & friends good health,
All the staff at Horn Hill Dental Practice.
If you do not feel comfortable attending your dental appointments during this time or are classed as 'high risk' and choose to self isolate for the foreseeable, please do not push yourself to attend if you feel anxious in any way. We are here to offer you as much support as you need.
We can take phone call and video calls, answer your questions and provide you with advice. Feel free to contact us at any time if you need advice on dental pain or keeping on top of your dental hygiene. We have dentists and oral health advisers who can guide you in the right direction.
We wish you, your family & friends good health,
All the staff at Horn Hill Dental Practice.
ppe: what to expect when attending your appointment.
We understand that living through the current pandemic can cause you some anxiety. We want you to feel at ease when attending your appointments with us, therefore here is some information on what to expect in regards to PPE (personal protective equipment) when attending your appointment with us. Not only has our cleaning routine changed and what products we use to clean, but the PPE we wear has also increased.
You will be accustomed to our staff wearing personal protective equipment such as scrubs, masks, gloves and visors, but as part of the response to Covid-19 we are now required to use a higher level of PPE for procedures where aerosols may be produced. Obtaining level 3 PPE masks, and crucially having them fit tested has proved immensely problematic and frustrating and has been the major barrier for us to re-open for a full range of care. What will differ from prior to covid-19 is that our staff will be wearing their PPE when you arrive and that will include the staff member who meets you at the door of the practice. We realise that this will act as a barrier to communication, as well as making us look more intimidating than we actually are, and we apologise for this.
As you can see in the photo below showing our principal dental surgeon Dr David Smith, where necessary we are now wearing surgical gowns and crocs, both which are washable and more easily decontaminated - and also more environmentally friendly than the disposable alternatives. Under this are our regular scrubs clothing which get washed daily at 60 degrees. We will also be wearing our usual PPE - latex free gloves, visor face shield and facemask. The masks we use are tested to ensure they provide full protection at level 3.
This level of PPE may come across daunting to already anxious patients, but it is for your protection as well our own.
Principle Dental Surgeon Dr David Smith in full PPE ready for an AGP (aerosol generating procedure).
obtaining PPE during the pandemic
As you can imagine obtaining PPE during the coronavirus pandemic was increasingly difficult. The nurse responsible for ordering stock kept a diary of all attempts made to obtain PPE and stock since March 2020 - when all our dental providers began to place necessary stock and PPE we required - on back order or not available. We have also had multiple orders amounting to many hundreds of pounds that simply did not appear yet stated they where available.
When we went into complete lockdown, and unfortunately were no longer open for face to face contact with our patients, all the PPE we did manage to obtain was then sent to hospitals and care homes to help out with the wider PPE demand.
We have encountered everything from £1000+ orders, changing delivery dates from 5 days to 120 days when processed, orders for one type of mask (FFP2) actually being a completely different mask (KN95) when we opened the box. These were subsequently tested, failed, and have been returned. HSE subsequently issued a UK wide recall for all of these type of masks, withdrawing them from use.
We have since all be fit tested for the correct masks (FFP3 & MFA) and can carry out AGP's (aerosol generating procedures) safely.
When we went into complete lockdown, and unfortunately were no longer open for face to face contact with our patients, all the PPE we did manage to obtain was then sent to hospitals and care homes to help out with the wider PPE demand.
We have encountered everything from £1000+ orders, changing delivery dates from 5 days to 120 days when processed, orders for one type of mask (FFP2) actually being a completely different mask (KN95) when we opened the box. These were subsequently tested, failed, and have been returned. HSE subsequently issued a UK wide recall for all of these type of masks, withdrawing them from use.
We have since all be fit tested for the correct masks (FFP3 & MFA) and can carry out AGP's (aerosol generating procedures) safely.
covid ppe charges:
Due to increased costs of PPE and other factors such as: fallow time (time periods in which we need to evacuate the surgery after an aerosol procedure to let the aerosol particles drop therefor eliminating clinic time), new filtration unit which we run throughout the day (that cost £4,000 each, one in each surgery) and costs for washing and decontaminating our PPE. Not only have we increased our safety equipment, PPE and decreased clinic time due to fallow periods, we also have new products for cleaning and longer, deeper cleans before and after clinic sessions. Because of these factors we are adding an additional cost on to private patients who require dental treatment using aerosols. This is done following up to date guidance and doing so with the number one priority being keeping our patients and staff safe.
COVID PPE CHARGE: |
£45.00 |
a special thank you!
This is a section dedicated to all the people who helped us obtain and fit PPE during the pandemic. You have helped us out incredibly in this difficult times.
A huge thank you to both Oxley Developments and Mrs Angela Dixon / Mr Tony Dixon for providing us with disposable face mask shields during the pandemic. They have been very useful as this is an item we also struggled to obtain.
Another special thanks to BAE for completing our mask fit tests.
A huge thank you to both Oxley Developments and Mrs Angela Dixon / Mr Tony Dixon for providing us with disposable face mask shields during the pandemic. They have been very useful as this is an item we also struggled to obtain.
Another special thanks to BAE for completing our mask fit tests.
a THANK YOU note to our patients
We would like to finish this by thanking all our lovely patients. Thank you for all your understanding, your kind words, gifts and support during this time. We hope to see you all soon.