Our COVID-19 Policy
Our aim is to see our patients for their appointments in a safe environment, keeping risks to a minimum. Therefore our practice is operating under enhanced infection control measures and procedures.
This means your next dental appointment will be a very different experience when compared to your last visit.
Our receptionist will explain the new measures and procedures over the phone when you book your appointment. But you are also required to read the following points before you visit our practice.
Things to note before you attend your appointment:
Only come to the practice if you have a pre-booked appointment. We are unable to allow anyone who does not have an appointment to enter our practice.
You are asked to wait outside the practice for your appointment. If you think you'll find it difficult to stand outside the building, please inform the receptionist when you book your appointment. You will be able to sit in your car outside the practice and a nurse will phone you to tell you when your dentist is ready to see you.
Please do not knock the door. The dental nurse will meet you within 10 minutes of your appointment. If the dentist is running late, you will be informed.
Please be on time for your appointment. We no longer allow for late patients, and turning up after your appointment start time will mean you will have lost your appointment slot.
We are an extremely busy NHS practice and due to high pressure on NHS resources during the pandemic, we have changed our missed / cancellation policy. If you miss one appointment or have multiple cancellations, the practice reserves the right not to offer you any future appointments. As a result you may have to find an alternative dentist at another practice.
You must attend your appointment on your own. Children and vulnerable adults can be accompanied by one adult. The accompanying adult is asked to wear their own mask or use a scarf to cover their nose and mouth whilst inside the practice.
When you book we will endeavour to accommodate appointment time requests, but please be aware appointment slots are limited and it might not be possible.
Due COVID-19 pandemic protocols appointment slots are longer, especially treatment appointments. If you cannot attend your appointment please inform the practice as soon as possible. This will allow us to reallocate your appointment to another patient.
Please come prepared to pay by credit or debit card. It's a safer way of paying when compared to cash.
Please bring your own pen to your appointment to complete the required forms.
You will not be able to bring personal belongings such as shopping bags or shopping trolleys to your appointment.
Please carry your own tissue or handkerchief and use them to catch your coughs or sneezes. Catch it. Bin it. Kill it!
Please wear a mask when you attend your appointment. If you do not have your own mask the practice will provide you with one.
Please call the practice if you or or any member of your household has COVID-19 symptoms in the 7 days before to your appointment. Symptoms include:
- High temperature
- New, continuous cough
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
Click here to see the latest NHS information
What will happen when you visit our practice:
We are enforcing a one way system through the practice. You will enter through the main entrance (the door facing Castle Street, opposite Barclays Bank) and exit through our side door (on Duke Street). Please do not cross other patients or staff whilst inside the practice.
You will be asked COVID-19 screening questions upon arrival to our practice. Any patient with COVID-19 symptoms will not be permitted to enter.
We will take your temperature and ask you to use our alcohol gel before you enter the practice.
A dental nurse will accompany you at all times whilst you are inside the practice.
Talking must be kept to a minimum.
You must social distance at all times.
Please do not touch the doors or door handles.
You won't be able to use the toilet at our practice.
We do not allow food or drink to be brought into our practice. You are not allowed to eat or drink during your visit.
If you or any member of your household tests positive for COVID-19 within 7 days after your appointment, please contact the practice by phone to inform us. This is for track and trace purposes, in line with government guidelines.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding during this difficult time. The post-COVID-19 world is a very different one.
Please be assured we are following all the current guidelines and procedures and are maintaining a high standard of decontamination and infection control in line with WHTM 01-01 throughout our practice.
You’ll now find us dressed in PPE, but please be assured it will be the same friendly face underneath it all.
We’ll find it very hard adjusting to the policy of keeping talking to a minimum. We’ve been part of the Tredegar community for many years, and really enjoy chatting to our patients. But unfortunately, talking is one of the methods of the virus spreading and we now have strict turnaround times to make sure our surgeries are ready for the next patient. Whereas it won’t be easy and goes against our friendly nature, we must adhere to these procedures.
The guidelines are likely to change as we move through the pandemic and learn more about the virus.
But it’s by following the above steps that we can do our bit to help control the virus. And the sooner we can get on top of it, the sooner we can go back to the way things were before.