18 / 06 / 2020
Second Week Back
To Our Dear Patients
We are pleased to announce that we reopened the Practice almost 2 weeks ago, and we are delighted to say that everything has gone well.
Reopening the Practice has allowed us to once again help our patients face-to-face, which was a great pleasure for us
Reopening the Practice has allowed us to once again help our patients face-to-face, which was a great pleasure for us. As you know we have been steady in our approach to ensure the safety of our patients, team members and local community.
Infection control and protection is woven into everything we do at Sutton Dental & Implant Clinic, and we also pleased to announce that our new protocols and ‘patient journey’ has worked very well and everything has ran seamlessly.
Since reopening we have already helped over 60 of our patients, who have been suffering and managing toothache for weeks
Since reopening we have already helped over 60 of our patients, who have been suffering and managing toothache for weeks. They were delighted with the treatment they received and we were delighted to be able to provide it. To be able to alleviate their pain physically gave us great satisfaction and pleasure.
Despite having countless new patient enquires since we have reopened (due to their normal dentist remaining closed) we have not taken on any new patients
Despite having countless new patient enquires since we have reopened (due to their normal dentist remaining closed) we have not taken on any new patients. All our appointments are reserved for our members.
ensure we continue to provide the highest level of care and to ensure our energies are focused on our members
We have made this decision to ensure we continue to provide the highest level of care and to ensure our energies are focused on our members who have been incredibly supportive and loyal during these difficult times.
We would like to pass on another large benefit to our members to thank you for your loyalty. The biggest challenges we have faced since reopening is the cost of the new personal protective equipment (PPE) we require and the reduced number of patients we can see in one day. The cost of PPE has risen from under £3 a patient to now over £36 a patient.
This is a rise of 12 times. The majority of practices we know have added this cost to the patients bill. We strongly feel this is not the correct approach, and we will not doing this. We will absorb the increased cost for PPE as a Practice for ALL of our members, making this an added benefit for being a member of our Practice.
If you are not a member of the Practice with Practice Plan and seen on a Private only basis, this cost will be added as an item to your invoice.
As mentioned before, as much as our desire is to return to ‘normal’ as soon as possible, we feel the most sensible and responsible way to act, is to be steady in our approach in restarting our services, to ensure the safety of our patients, team members and local community.
This week we used two treatment rooms each day which has been very successful and without any problems, so we now to plan to use 3 treatment rooms a day from next week.
We will continue to treat patients with pain and infection first, followed by those patients that were in the ‘middle’ of treatment when lockdown came, and have been managing with temporary solutions. Patients who are predisposed to severe gum disease will also fall into our priority category to allow them to resume their oral hygiene care to reduce the risk of their gum health deteriorating.
This will then be followed by our stable patients that are in treatment ie Invisalign or implants and routine care and hygiene appointments, and the resumption of all our services, which we anticipate to be in July or August. The ability to resume our services will of course depend on the Covid-19 risk levels at the time.
We understand that ALL dental appointments are important and we promise we will get to you, and please bear with us while we continue to adjust to the new working arrangements. Once we can resume a more ‘normal’ service we will be extending our working hours to increase the availability of appointments and to help us ‘catch-up’ with your missed appointments.
Our home page has video of our ‘new patient journey’. This will help you to understand what to do when you attend for your next appointment with us. We are continually working on this to make your visits with us as ‘contactless’ as possible.
Remember you can now ‘check-in’ for your appointment when you arrive via text. You can also complete your medical history before you arrive, and if a payment is due this can be made online once you have got home.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONTINUED UNDERSTANDING, SUPPORT, LOYALTY AND PATIENCE DURING THIS TIME. IT HAS BEEN TRULY HUMBLING TO US AND HAS HELPED US GET THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
We sincerely hope you, your families and loved ones are safe and well, and we look forward to seeing you again soon for face-to-face care. In the meantime please stay safe and see you again soon!
Best Wishes
