Dear patients,
We hope you are all safe and well.
We have contacted many of you over the last few weeks to make sure that those of you who are potentially vulnerable or have had treatment postponed are comfortable and aware of current limitations in terms of treatment.
Many of you have asked when and how we may reopen. Unfortunately, the guidelines are extremely vague with a distinct lack of clarity from our professional bodies.
This is a highly frustrating time, but I can assure you that the team and I are regularly in contact and discussing how this return to work may look. We are assessing the research and advice, which is changing on an almost daily basis, and refining our new Standard Operating Procedures and Patient protocols. There will undoubtedly be meaningful changes to how we work and your patient experience but will endeavour to ensure any disruption and inconvenience will be kept to a minimum.
Our priority is to provide the safest environment for you and our team, and we will not reopen until we feel that it is absolutely safe to do so. We need to ensure we have the correct equipment and have retrained to deliver new protocols effectively and safely.
It is very difficult to give you a time scale for this and it is highly likely that the initial phase will be emergency care only. We assure you that we will resume routine dentistry as soon as we are permitted, and the team are committed to working through the backlog of cancelled appointments as quickly as possible.
As soon as we have a confirmed reopening date, we will be emailing the new protocols to you and they will also be on the home page of the website.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Emma on 07595541235 if you have an emergency or general enquiry. We will shortly be contacting patients to triage you either by phone or video link to assess your needs and prioritise appointments.
Many thanks to you who have communicated messages of support and concern for the team; it is very much appreciated.
Stay safe.
Emma Clayton-Jones and the 5 Dental team