The Harrow Dental team have taken greater measures to minimize our patient contact times within our surgical environment.
Patients will be contacted by our reception team, prior to their appointment.
They will be instructed to wait in their car until the appropriate time for them to enter the building has arrived.
Following the verbal confirmation of their medical history, they will be given a comprehensive overview of how the appointment will take place.
The apt will maintain social distancing at all times wherever possible.
Instructions will be given to our patients to approach the door, to knock and alert their presence to our colleagues within the practice.
They will be asked to stop, step back, and have their temperature taken with our radar thermometers.
As long as patients are not showing any signs of covid 19, they will be welcomed into the practice and asked to cleanse their hands with alcohol hand rub.
The patient will then be instructed on how to place a fluid resistant surgical face mask with ear loops on, creating a seal around the bridge of the nose, to provide our staff and the patients with additional protection whilst in the surgical environment.
In additional to the mask the patient will be given a plastic bag to be used in the surgery, payment can then be taken in advance of entering the surgery, the PDQ machine will have a plastic covering over the keypad to assist the disinfection process. After each transaction the reception area should be comprehensively wiped down and the plastic covering over the PDQ machine can be changed at the end of every session. There will be additional Perspex screens in place to protection for our colleagues.
The patient will then be guided to a hand washing station, either just outside the surgery or within the surgery itself, to use detergent and warm water to fully cleanse the hands. Taps should be turned on/off using elbow.
This is a good opportunity to fully explain to the patient what to expect once they enter the surgery itself, seeing clinicians if full PPE can be intimidating for some patients.
After comprehensive hand washing has been completed, the patient will dispose of the hand towels themselves within a clinical waste bin prior to placing their personal belongings, coats in a plastic box outside of the surgery itself. This will minimize the aerosol contamination of their clothes whilst they are in the surgery.
The box can then be stored securely for the duration of the appointment at the patient’s request.
Our colleagues will then ensure the patient has a plastic bag in their hand before they enter the surgery.
After taking a seat, the patient will then be asked to remove the fluid resistant facemask and place it directly into the plastic bag they were issued with previously.
The mask will remain in the bag for the duration of the procedure.
A peroxide mouthwash will then be used for 1 minute prior to any intra-oral procedures that are to be carried out.
Following the pre-operative mouth wash the patient should spit into a cup or into a funnel into the hollow aspiration system.
This is then followed by placing the PPE, including well fitting safety glasses and a patient bib.
Instrument trays and consumable should be individually packed where possible to avoid cross-contamination and opening of drawers.
Intra oral radio graphs will be passed over to buddy nurse for processing followed by a change of gloves to prevent cross-contamination.
On completion of the procedure the patient will remove their ppe and replace their fluid resistant surgical facemask for the duration of the time in the clinic.
The plastic bag can then be disposed of before the patient will be asked to carry out a final hand washing procedure whilst they are still in the surgery.
Instructions should be given to the patient to turn the tabs off with their elbows rather than their hands.
Before retrieving their personal belonging from the plastic box, the patient will either greeted by a colleague or escorted from the surgery by a member of the clinical team following dothing of their PPE.
When ready they will be escorted back to the reception area by on of our colleagues.
On exiting the practice the patient will be asked to dispose of their fluid resistant surgical mask into the clinical waste bins near to the door.
Prior to using the alcohol hand rub and then exiting the practice under the guidance of a colleague.
The terminal clean will involve hypochlorous acid fogging, which should be done three times a day, prior to opening, lunchtime and end of the day. Hypochlorous fobbing is an effective physical method of preventing further spread of virus by spraying down all surfaces.
The terminal clean should involve disinfection of all door handles that the patient have come in contact with, including the main entrance and the handles of the surgery.
In addition to any other surfaces such as the plastic box used for their belongings. This should ideally include the outside and the inside of the box.
During the visit patients will notice every environment is equipped with air purifier system and virus killer, which is proven to kill viruses up to 99.99% providing clean air every 5 minutes.
In addition the use of a very powerful extra vacuum suction for aerosols and droplets will be used for procedure and kills 99.9% of viruses.
