Dental surgery is braced for huge backlog
A DENTAL surgery manager has said ‘phones have not stopped ringing’ since re-opening service for emergency appointments amid coronavirus lockdown easement.
Town Hall Dental, in Thornton Square, Brighouse, reopened earlier this week for the first time in almost three months after dental surgeries across the UK closed in March to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus.
The surgery is one of many practices across the country which are again treating patients on a limited basis, with strict social distancing measures in place, with staff wearing additional protective equipment.
Manager and dental nurse, Rachel Dilley said: “We’re prioritising all emergency appointments.
“It’s been busy and our phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
“Government officials gave us short notice we could reopen, so we’ve had three days to get prepared.”
Other concerns raised by Ms Dilley involved the lack of specialised filtering face piece (FFP) equipment ready for dentists and nurses.
“We’re a private dental firm, but we need guidance from the Government regarding protective equipment such as FFP, which we just don’t have enough of at this time,” said Ms Dilley.
“I love my job and I’ve been a dental nurse for 30 years, but there’s not going to be a ‘back to normal’ senario for a while.
“We’re now looking to train our staff with FFP equipment, but I must state we’re not ready to perform areosol procedures just yet.”
The dental surgery has said it will increase patient capacity on June 22, and is working through its backlog of emergency appointments for the time being.
Throughout the pandemic, the practice has worked with non-profit Focus4Hope to distribute over 35,000 meals to those in need and care packages to NHS workers.
“We’re prioritising all emergency appointments. Our phone hasn’t stopped ringing.”
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