Important patient information

We hope you and your family are well. We request that you do not attend the practice without an appointment

At Ingrid Cubbon Dental Surgery we need to ensure the safety of both our staff and patients. Please be assured that we will be following Public Health England Covid 19 regulations to minimise risk to us all. To this end we have made considerable changes to the building and the way we operate. This is NOT service as usual.

The waiting area has had an extensive protective screen fitted. All staff wear the correct personal protective equipment. If the dentist must carry out an aerosol generating procedure, the team will look very different as they are now required to wear respirator masks and long-sleeved surgical gowns. We are now using an antiviral fogger on a regular basis and are thoroughly decontaminating our surgeries between every patient.

There are now separate sessions for shielded and vulnerable patients. If you are vulnerable or shielded please let us know when booking your appointment.
When you attend the practice, we will ask you to come alone if that is possible and leave extra bags and coats at home. The new entrance will now be at the rear of the building which is clearly signposted on the front door. Before leaving home, please ensure you use the toilet and brush your teeth thoroughly.

If you have a face mask, we would be grateful if you wear one. If you are unable to complete your paperwork online, we would be grateful if you bring your own pen. Please do not arrive early to your appointment, wait outside and we will contact you when we are ready to allow you in. There will be hand sanitiser for you to use. You will need to social distance with anyone you meet in the corridor and in the waiting area. A distance of at least 2 meters must be observed if you meet another patient in the practice. We are currently limited in the treatment we can offer, and it may be necessary to book a further treatment appointment.

The personal protective equipment is necessary during the pandemic.

We have been attempting to obtain Personal Protective Equipment for our staff for many weeks, this, as you will be aware, is a challenge. The hospitals rightly have been given priority. We must have the correct filtration masks for us to be allowed to carry out any procedure above and beyond extractions and impressions. Rest assured we will have all the correct Personal Protective equipment before any operative treatment is commenced.

The essential decrease in patient attendance will inevitably increase the time we will take to catch up with treatment and check-ups. Priority will be given to those in severe pain followed by urgent cases and patient’s with open courses of treatment prior to lockdown.

If we do any aerosol generating procedure using a drill the room has to be left fallow for 25 minutes before being disinfected, this will again affect the number of patients seen per day.

When paying for your treatment please do so with a payment card if possible.
We will be regularly testing all the staff & self -isolating where necessary, this could put extra strain on our service if we became short staffed, we believe this is unlikely but requires planning for.

DO NOT ATTEND THE PRACTICE
If you have any of the following symptoms

RAISED TEMPERATURE
NEW AND PERSISTANT COUGH
CHANGE OR LOSS OF TASTE / SMELL

Please call the surgery as soon as possible to rebook your appointment
Please do not contact the practice to book check-ups, we will be contacting you as soon as we can.

We look forward to seeing you again. The practice will look and feel a little different, but you will receive the same warm welcome.

 

Yours Sincerely
Ingrid Cubbon Dental Surgery (SW) Ltd