Dear Illume Clients,
As you may be
aware, the national media carried the news in the afternoon of Thursday 28th
May that English dental practices had been given the go ahead by our Chief
Dental Officer to re-open from Monday 8th June 2020, in line with the latest
measures to gradually release lockdown announced by the Government. Delighted
as we are, after 10 weeks with little information, the news came as a surprise
to members of the dental profession, which remains disappointed at the lack of
information and by the way in which this news was released, potentially raising
false hopes with the public of normal service being resumed straightaway. This
has left a very short time frame of only six working days to prepare. However,
much work has been going on behind the scenes, both at Illume, and within the
profession to offer you a revised service from June 8th.
While we have been unable to provide
treatment to clients during the past weeks, our dentists have been available
for telephone consultations and emergency advice. Carley and Lucy, who I am
sure many of you will have spoken to if we have needed to reschedule an
appointment, have been at Illume every day ensuring the smooth running of the
practice during lockdown. I would like to thank them, and our clinicians for
continuing to look after clients during difficult and unprecedented
circumstances and providing the care and guidance you can always expect from
us.
I speak on behalf of the whole team
when I express our incredible gratitude to you, our clients, for your patience
and understanding when rescheduling, postponing or deferring treatment. The
resumption of the safe and effective provision of the full range of dental
services, will develop in phases, as previously outlined in Mike’s Clinical
Director newsletter. There will be
logistical challenges ahead but as mentioned before we will be extending our
practice opening times as necessary to include evenings and weekends, to enable
us to ‘catch up’.
Phased Return
First,
please be assured that the health and safety of all our clients and our team is
our priority. We will begin a phased
return by reviewing weekly what we are able to provide for you. We will begin
with a reduced team to minimise the number of people in the practice at any one
time, and will give priority to clients with dental pain and to those with problems
that arose during the lockdown period.
With some
treatments still not practical to commence immediately, it is important in the
first instance that we manage and prioritise your dental health requirements.
Please be assured
we have compiled systems to ensure recall patterns remain as close to your
recommended dental provision as possible and we will do all we can to ensure
your membership entitlements are met.
Things Will
Be Different
For a while
you can expect things to look and feel a little different. As a dental practice,
we work in an environment where the prevention of the spread of infections is
woven into everything we do. As we continue to observe, interpret and apply the
recommendations of our dental regulators, we may look a little different in our
PPE and we will carry out extra measures when considered necessary in our
stringent infection control procedures. This will include client pre-screening
questions in advance of your appointment, temperature checks and hand sanitising
upon arrival. Don’t worry! When you arrive at Illume a familiar face will be
there to talk you through what’s going to happen.
How You Can
Help
As part of
our phased return and to temporarily minimise the number of people in the practice
at any one time, we ask that you only attend Illume when you have an
appointment, and do so alone unless you need to be accompanied by a parent,
guardian or carer.
We will be
temporarily staggering the appointment diary to avoid client cross-over and to
ensure additional infection control measures are carried out in-between clients
in treatment rooms and public areas. We ask that you arrive on time so we can
carry out the additional checks – but equally please do not arrive too early as
we won’t be able to offer you refreshments and we may have to ask you to remain
in your car while you wait.
And Finally
We recognise that this is still a
difficult time for everyone and while we work to establish what the long-term
future of dentistry looks like, we want to assure you of our commitment to
provide you with the services you depend on. We really do appreciate your
cooperation and understanding, and we will keep you frequently updated. If you
have an appointment scheduled for June or July, we will be contacting you in
due course. Those of you waiting for emergency appointments on our priority
list will be contacted shortly.
In the meantime, if you have any
questions please get in touch. All our clinicians are itching to discuss dentistry and get back to doing what they love!
We are, and will continue to be here for you, telephone 01242 522230 or
email, info@illumedentistry.co.uk
Stay safe, keep well, and see you
soon.
Clare Pollard
Practice Manager