01428 605594
info@5dental.co.uk

COVID-19 Patient Protocol

We Are Almost Open!

Dear Patients,

We hope this letter finds you and those closest to you all safe and well. Our community has been through a great deal over the last few months and I’m sure that like all of us, you are looking forward to resuming normal habits and routines. While many things may have changed, one thing will always remain the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice, and you may have seen this during your visits. Our infection control processes are designed to ensure that when you receive care, it is safe and comfortable for both patients and staff.

Our practice follows infection control recommendations made by the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners, Public Health England and CQC. We follow the activities of these bodies so that we are always up to date with any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to the recommendations. As you will know, at 5 we always aim to be the ‘gold standard’, and our industry inspections have confirmed we meet these aims

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. We have made this short video to explain the new patient protocol.

So in summary

  • Communication
    Our team will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you attend the practice. We will ask you to complete a medical history form before attending- we know we have these details but this remote system requires this information again, we apologise for this but please be patient, this is designed by our software provider and we currently cannot amend it.
  • Payment
    We will send you an estimate and consent prior to attending and ask for prepayment in advance of your appointment. This can be done by BACS or by paying over the phone. Adhering to a contactless journey will ensure reduced risk of infection.
  • Arriving for your appointment
    Please only arrive at the appointment time, no earlier and phone the practice when you arrive or stand by the entrance so we can see you have arrived. Do not try to open or knock on the door. Please try to leave bags and coats in your car and attend unaccompanied unless approved by the team.
  • Hygiene
    We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the practice. You will be asked to wear a surgical mask, please keep conversation to a minimum to limit the spread of aerosol.
  • Waiting Room
    You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines and newspapers, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect. Our lovely chairs and sofas have gone but we have “5 green” wipe clean chairs that are socially distanced for your safety.
  • Scheduling an Appointment
    Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options when scheduling your appointment. In the short term it may be difficult for us to schedule check-ups at the same time as hygienist appointments, again we ask for your patience and understanding.
  • Entering and Leaving the Practice
    We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. We will also have different entrance and exit points to the practice and these will be clearly signposted.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you safe in our practice. We will be contacting you regarding appointments and assure you that we are working hard to get through the backlog of appointments as quickly as possible. Thank you for both being our patient and for being patient with us. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming you back as patients, neighbours and friends.

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