COVID CORNER
The Key Points Summary here should be read with the Additional Information (below)
BEING COVID-SAFE
- We are proud of our excellent Team, who are doing all the extra things which allow us to be open again for our Patients
CURRENT FOCUS
- We are now conducting a full range of appointments, including New Patients and new Treatment commencements, on an appointment basis only
- New Patients will be contacted by the Practice and MUST complete an on-line Health Questionnaire BEFORE we can make their 1st appointment.
APPOINTMENT
- Please DO NOT attend the Practice if you don’t have an appointment booked
- Our phone lines have also re-opened ‘part-time’ for set periods during the week, so you can call the Practice directly and speak with one of our Reception Team and make appointments
- You will also be able to make your next appointment in the Surgery with your Clinician before leaving you current appointment.
- There WILL be some changes to the way we conduct appointments, what you can expect and HOW you can keep ours a COVID-safe Practice, when you attend. Click the two links below to read more
- Our Team WILL continue to ask you some important health screening questions when you arrive at the Practice
- It is important to be punctual (i.e. under 5 mins ahead); you need to queue outside beforehand. NOTE THAT being late will probably mean appointment is lost (& will need re-booking)
- You CAN call the Practice but will directed to leave a message. We will call you back
- While at the Practice, there are signs on entry and around the building you WILL need to read and follow
Thank you FOR YOUR patience and cooperation – it will help us crush COVID and get back to seeing everyone
Keep an eye on our website for regular updates
Last update: [Friday 13/11/2020]
HELPFUL LINKS FOR YOU
HELP CRUSH COVID – Practice Entry Rules
Managing Orthodontic Emergencies at home (03-2020)
Patient OH Advice at home (03-2020)
Cleaning and general care for your braces
‘CRUSHING COVID’ PROGRESS REPORT
We want you to know that, since re-opening:
- 93% of the available appointments were held
- < 1% of appointments were cancelled/rebooked to avoid COVID risks
- < 1% of appointments were missed due to lateness
WE’RE PROUD OF OUR PATIENTS
We want you to know that, since re-opening:
- The overall standard of Oral Hygiene of our Patients has been excellent
- The compliance with our Crush COVID Risk Mitigation Programme has been outstanding
KEEP WORKING
to help us further improve our service delivery to YOU:
- Please contact us if you cannot attend your appointment
- Missed appointments cost everyone
- You may not be able to re-scheduled a missed appointment for a number of weeks!
PRACTICE PHONE LINES ARE OPEN DURING THESE TIMES:
NUNEATON: Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 4:30pm, closed between 12:30-1:30pm.
OXFORD: Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 4:30pm closed between 1 and 2pm.
THAME: Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 4:30pm closed between 1 and 2pm
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Practice status – ALL Practices open SINCE Monday 29 June 2020. All Practices are now operating at capacity above 85%
COVID-safe: before re-opening
In preparation for our Practices to re-open, we undertook a number of comprehensive Risk Assessments (RA’s) specifically relating to COVID-19. We used a Framework provided by the Government, NHS England and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer (OCDO), with the simple focus being to identify measures which would mitigate against possible transmission of the virus, within the Practice – to Users, visitors &/or Team.
After that we cross-referenced all of our EXISTING Practices, Systems, Polices and Procedures so as to identify the extra tasks we needed to do in order to put those identified mitigations into on-going routines. Those tasks were then documented in new Procedures and our Team have undertaken and completed extensive Training on them.
COVID-safe: after re-opening
Our programme outlined above ALSO identified that continuing COVID-safety needs to be a collaborative effort with Users & visitors ALSO playing a continuous part.. When speaking to our Team on the phone and when attending the Practices, our Users and visitors also have responsibilities to fulfil and expected behaviours they will need to adhere to.
We will support you in doing that by providing important verbal and written information and conducting important health screening checks on ALL visitors. Some examples of how you will contribute include: READ all of the signs; wear a mask; mobiles off & away before entering & while inside; no chewing gum
We have successfully moved through the first three phases of Treatment, namely; Addressing emergencies, triage and OH check and completion of an initial Treatment appointment for almost all of our Patients in active Treatment. We have also managed to complete the Treatment of over 250 Patients and remove their braces – most of whom had to put this on-hold during lock down. Thank you for your patience. We know it was worth the wait J.
To help accommodate these appointment and Treatment changes, our phone lines have also re-opened ‘part-time’ for set periods during the week, so you can call the Practice directly and speak with one of our Reception Team and make appointments. (See above for times during which you can call the Practice directly.)
You will also be able to make your next appointment in the Surgery with your Clinician before leaving you current appointment.
If you do have an Orthodontic emergency WE RECOMMEND that, in the first instance, refer to the specific information and guidance on managing most Orthodontic emergencies or Oral Hygiene concerns. To access that material click on the relevant link above in “Helpful links for you”.
REMEMBER THAT you can also contact the Practice via email through our website via the “Contact us now” Form on the Home Page. NHS England have advised that Patients with an Orthodontic issue or emergency DO NOT call NHS 111. Only contact that service if you are experiencing signs and/or symptoms of COVID-19 OR suffering an acute medical emergency.
Thank you for your continuing co-operation, patience and participation in the important additional actions during the coming period (which we refer to as “Crushing COVID”).
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
The Team at Accessible Orthodontics
453 Wood Road Guildford 3461 UK
