Dear Patients,
We hope you are keeping well. As you may know we have been able to reopen and are now able to reflect upon the impact of our new working pratices due to Covid-19. The safety of our patients and staff is our number one priority.
To reduce waiting times while completing forms at reception, we have introduced links on your appointment reminder where you can complete your COVID -19 health screening and medical history forms. If you are unable to complete these ahead of your appointment, we will help you on arrival.
On entry to the practice, we have hand sanitising in place, along with taking your temperature. We have marked seating areas to ensure social distancing in the waiting rooms and everyone is advised to wear a mask.
Covid-19 surcharge:
We have had to introduce a temporary Covid-19 surcharge on all appointments at the practice, which is due to increased costs such as increased staff, new disinfection methods, increased cost of PPE and fallow time.
There are two tiers of Covid surcharge:
Tier 1: £5:00 for all examinations, hand scaling hygienist appointment and any non-aerosol generating procedure.
** £4.50 if you are on the membership plan.
Tier 2: £25 for any procedure involving an Aerosol Generating Procedure- AGP
**£22.50 if you are on the membership plan
(An aerosol is a mix of air and water droplets that can result from the use of the drill, air & water spray in dentistry)
“What are the costs covering?”
Tier 1 – all our usual PPE, gloves and masks, the addition of a full-face visor, apron, extra deep cleaning of the surgery after each patient and extra staffing.
Tier 2 – Professionally fit tested FFP3 masks, gloves, full-length gowns.
Currently, the surgeries need to be left vacant for one hour after an AGP treatment, followed by deep cleaning of all surfaces and floors before another patient can be seen.
Hygienists Appointments
We have 2 kinds of hygiene appointments available now:
**For Practice members the hygiene is free only the Covid-19 surcharge in red above applies according to which hygiene you choose.
Currently this means less patients can be seen per day, leading to longer waiting times for appointments. We are reviewing this regularly and have open extra clinics and longer hours.
We look forward to welcoming you back to the practice for all your appointment needs, please bear with us for any delay in appointment availability during these difficult times. Current guidelines are changing rapidly and we are still keeping abreast of all changes. We have invested in new equipment and made changes to the practice to enable the safest and most efficient flow for our staff and patients. As newer and evidence-based equipment becomes available we will look to incorporate these into our practice. We wish to reassure you the safety of our patients is paramount and our ability to continue to provide excellent dental care.
Please do not hesitate to contact us on 02087557900 if you require further information.
Kind regards,
Eye smile Team
