Updated advice. Re-opening Schedule
16th June 2020
Things are starting to come into place.
A door entry system should be functional in a couple of days, supplies of PPE are starting to filter through, various pieces of new equipment are expected over the next 10 days and we finally managed to source hand gel with matching wall dispensers (who would have thought that hand gel could be such a problem!).
New procedures and protocols are being written which will give the practice a very different look and feel, at least until the Covid-19 alert status drop to 1 or 2.
We are still hoping to open on 6th July. This will be a "soft-start" to allow us to see that are various social distancing measures and enhanced cross-infection procedures are effective and practical. Our initial focus will be on the back-log of patients who have had problems during lock-down but we will ramp up the service we can provide as quickly as possible whilst keeping everyone safe.
June 3rd 2020
It's been a busy week. We have been getting to grips with how to provide routine dentistry safely in the Covid-19 world. Dentistry's particular concern is the Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) which is essentially all treatment that involves use of a high speed drill, such as fillings, crowns, bridges and scalings etc.. Using current safety measures these will become prohibitively expensive to provide.
PPE
This remains a challenge especially for the higher grade items such as FFP3 masks and disposable surgical gowns which remain unobtainable outside of the NHS supply chain. We have organised a tele-conference with John Glen MP to discuss these issues.
We have ordered a number of air-flow hoods (3M Versaflo M306 if you want to check out this stylish new look). These will allow us to establish procedures to provide AGPs more efficiently. The filter units to run them are out-of-stock at the moment but we hope to have them by the end of this month.
Social distancing
We are working on various strategies to reduce contact between patients and staff in the reception and waiting spaces of the practice. A perspex shield has been installed at the desk and a door control system has been ordered to control the flow of people in and out of the surgery. A system has also been establised so that patients may get their denture repaired by Southern Smiles with minimum interaction with practice or laboratory staff.
Infection control procedures
Of course we already have many procedures in place and these will continue. We are adding further measures to mitigate the particular problems of Covid-19 (in particular it's infection rate ("r") which may be as high as 3 and it's persistance on various surfaces. We have ordered electrostatic air purifiers to be installed throughout the practice to deal with air-born microbes (including Covis-19) and a "fogging" system to disinfect all surfaces within the premises. The air purifiers and fogger unit are on back-order but should be with us later in the month.
This week seems to have been mainly about ordering items that are out-of-stock. Next week it will be writing policies and protocols. I will keep you updated.
PS
We ordered a couple of non-contact forehead thermometers. Not very exciting except that they were in stock and have arrived!
29th May 2020
You will have heard the news that the Chief Dental Officer has given the go-ahead for dental practices to commence reopening from the 8th June. This came as a bit of a surprise since the last advice issued by the CDO was that we would not be able to open before the end of June
Our aim is to return to the sort of service we were providing before the end of March, however, this will not be possible immediately. We will, of course have to incorporate social distancing and new, enhanced infection control procedures so some changes are inevitable.
Initially, we will be triaging patients and prioritising those with urgent needs.
We have been working out a plan for returning to work but, like all private practices we are awaiting delivery of the correct PPE. This remains in short supply and the supply chain is controlled by the Government who give private dentists (and dental laboratories) a very low priority. We assume that yesterday’s unexpected announcement will cause an increase in demand from NHS practices which will further reduce availability for us.
At the beginning of the lockdown we donated our stocks of PPE to the NHS because front line staff did not have access to the protection they desperately needed, so currently we have very low stocks.
It is still our aim to re-open from the beginning of July. This date could be brought forward if PPE becomes available sooner.
We are currently unable to book appointments until everything is in place to create a system that ensures the safety of patients and staff. We will contact people whose appointments have been cancelled.
Please do not call unless you have a problem or require advice.
Call Mr Newman on 0789 443 6501. If he does not pick up he will return your call as soon as possible.
The Dental Practice is closed
until further advice
following Government guidelines issued by the Chief Dental Officer because of the COVID-19 epidemic
If you require advice for an urgent, acute problem please phone our usual number for details on how to access advice, or contact us on Facebook Messenger.
A local emergency dental system is being set up but we do not yet have details of how this will operate, at what times, or where. For up-to-date information on this please call NHS 111 or look online at 111.nhs.uk. Please only use this service for genuine dental emergencies.
The situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing and we will update our Facebook page and Website as we receive further advice.
Facebook: Catherine Street Dental Practice
Tel: 01722 412621
27/3/2020
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Welcome to the Catherine Street Dental Practice in Salisbury.
We are a small, friendly, family dental practice based in Salisbury's medieval city centre.
Michael Newman established the Estcourt Road Dental Practice in 1988 and in 2011 this amalgamated with the Catherine Street Dental Practice at 9a Catherine Street.
We offer easily understood advice and a wide range of sensibly priced treatment options. Treatment is carried out in a friendly, professional atmosphere and to the highest standards.
The dental practice has many longstanding members of staff and our patients appreciate seeing the same faces everytime they visit us.
Our dentist is Michael Newman who qualified at University College London in 1981. He regularly keeps up to date by attending further training courses.
David Bevan of Southern Smiles Ltd works closely with us as a Clinical Dental Technician providing our patients with full and partial dentures of all types.