Update from Lars
It is officially Autumn- and certainly it has arrived with a vengeance. Mouthguards have been in much demand as everyone gets back to school!
Luckily we have plenty of capacity for after school appointments since Evisi another specialist orthodontist joined our team a couple of years ago. Evisi has started doing a day a week in the JR Hospital orthodontic Dept to see what they get up to but will be returning to us fulltime in June 25 which will be great. She has proven a great addition to the practice and has my full support as a professional colleague and all-round lovely person.
Julie, our trusted colleague of 25 years, who has been involved in your invoicing and payment plans among other things officially retired at the end of March. She will be sorely missed for her dedication and great humour. She has kindly agreed to help us by working from home until we have a successor in place so you may not have heard the last of her! We are looking for someone on a fulltime basis who is organised, comfortable with people management as well as bookkeeping. If you know someone who fits the bill please email us at info@larschristensenorthodontics
The public health messaging of “do not attend or call in advance if you have respiratory symptoms or feel unwell” remains. There has been a lot of illness/flu around over the last couple of months and we thank you for staying away!
Facemasks are no longer mandatory. Health staff are not required to wear facemasks in non-clinical areas (eg. reception areas, offices and staff rooms), unless this is their personal preference.
As a practice, we have made some changes to our set up and procedures and these will endure despite the lifting of restrictions.
We have not been immune to staff shortages and delays in shipments and apologise to any of you who has been affected by either. Between Brexit and the pandemic there is a national shortage of dental nurses and we have felt this acutely. Our in surgery support team changes more regularly than we would like. Website photos need to be updated!
I am happy to be able to report that there has been no case reported worldwide of any transmission of Coronavirus in a dental setting. This is certainly due to the universal precautions we have always taken in infection control. Even before we put all extra measure in place- see below.
We continue to be enormously grateful for all your support and the trust you continue to show in us. We appreciate it very much.
With best wishes
Lars
**We are working tirelessly to update our operating procedures as the events unfold over the coming months**
We would like to inform you of the changes we have implemented to reduce the risk to you, your families and to our staff;
- We have installed air purifiers in all clinical areas
- Patients will be offered the chance to sanitise their hands for 20 seconds upon entering the practice
- The waiting area will not have magazines or newspapers as these are difficult to disinfect
- Any appointments that can be conducted virtually will continue to be performed virtually
- Please reduce the amount of personal belongs brought into the clinic
- Please treat our staff kindly as they are trying to help you. Late cancellations due to staff sickness may be unavoidable and we ask for your understanding should this happen. Whilst many things have changed, we want to reassure you that we remain committed to your safety. We have always maintained the highest standards of infection control.
- We have installed air purifiers in all clinical areas which help combat aerosol spread of the virus
- We have installed high volume suction allowing rapid air turnover in one surgery dedicated to aerosol generating procedures
- We have increased frequency of cleaning of commonly touched surfaces and have hand sanitizer for use by patients and staff.
Unfortunately, the virus, and other ones, are still around. However, we have always used universal precautions and will continue to do so.
Thank you for your continued support.