It was bound to happen, wasn’t it? Just when we thought our lives were finally returning back to normal, Omicron arrives! Just the kind of reminder we needed to make us even more aware that this pandemic is far from over. Locally our infection numbers are up, despite our ramped up vaccination and booster program, hospital admissions are up and, sadly, our death rate is slowly rising. The authorities are already back tracking on restrictions regarding mask wearing in crowded areas and of course travel restrictions have been re instated.
Ironically, our profession has just been issued with new relaxed guidelines regarding what our Standard Operating Procedures should now be.
We feel that this is probably the worst time to relax any of our protocols and procedures. By the very nature of what we do and how we interact with our patients we have decided that we will be continuing as we have been for the last 18 months.
We will review and reassess our protocols in the Spring and decide how best to implement them.
As mentioned in our previous update pre appointment health screening will be essential. Even if you have been fully vaccinated and received your booster or regularly undergo lateral flow testing, this is an extra layer of protection for everyone. Your health screening questionnaire and medical history updates are sent to you in your appointment reminders either by text or e mail.
The new guidance relies heavily on these health screening questionnaires. These are the basis for how we undertake your treatment in the surgery.
By doing these online, it certainly makes things a lot easier for us and streamlines your journey through the practice. If you do not have access to the internet, please remember to call us just before your appointment and we can do the health screening and updates over the phone.
When you arrive at the practice for your appointment, you may wait in your car until you are called in (please park facing the reception area so that you are able to see us when we call you in), let us know by whatever means that you have arrived. Alternatively, you may come in and wait in our waiting room if it is too cold to wait outside. We will attempt to have not more than 3 people in the waiting room at any one time.
We will continue to check temperatures when you arrive, hands must be decontaminated and social distancing within the common areas of the practice will be enforced.
Fee Increase
Regrettably we are going to have to increase our fees next year. We have not had a fee increase since the end of 2018. The effect of the pandemic, Brexit and a host of other factors has made this decision necessary if the practice is to remain viable.
As an example, a check up will increase to £65.00, a pair of bite wing X rays will increase to £33.00 and a routine hygienist appointment will increase to £65.00 for an approximately half hour appointment.
Children’s fees remain unchanged.
For those patients who are on the Cornerways Dental Plan, your monthly fees will now be:
Standard plan: £24.50
Plan+: £34.50
Plan H+: £37.50
Cornerways will honour treatment plans issued in 2021. These will still be valid for 6 months from date of issue.
These increases will come in to effect on 1 January 2022, Plan patients will see the increase to their monthly subscriptions starting on 1 February 2021.
Infection control levy
Our infection control levy will remain in place for the foreseeable future. We introduced this levy at the height of the pandemic when we returned to work after the first lock down. The levy was introduced in order help the practice cover the cost of putting in to place all the necessary equipment, procedures and protocols to allow us to continue to provide as normal a dental service to our patients as possible. This is an ongoing expense and does not only include what you may see in the surgery, there is an awful lot that happens in the background that you may not be aware of. For those patients on our plan, the infection control levy is not included in your dental plan and must be paid for at the end of each appointment. This was because we were hoping that one day we would be simply be able to discard them. Our levy, as far as we can tell, is very reasonable compared to other practices around us.
From next year, non AGP levy will remain at £5.00 and AGP levy will increase to £10.00.
Cornerways team news
Linda, who has been at Cornerways for over 20 years, has decided to leave to dedicate more time to her foot health care business. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude for her services here at Cornerways and wish her every success with her business.
Our hygienists, Suzanne, Mary-Lou, Gayle and Alison have been exceptionally busy but they have coped really well despite some challenges for some of them. The support provided by the nursing team of Katy, Laura and Madina has been phenomenal and our gratitude goes out to the whole team for their input and dedication during some extremely difficult times.
Incidentally, our trainee dental nurse, Madina, passed her first exam in October with flying colours! Only 2 more to go and she will be a qualified dental nurse!
Personal
Our daughter, Danielle, now has a permanent position at HSBC but is still continuing her sauce business but with more of an online presence than before. You may like to try her range of Chinese sauces at https://happyeatinghouse.co.uk/
Our son, Jason, just recently became engaged to Rosie and are planning a wedding for early 2023. Jason is currently working his trauma rotation as a physiotherapist at Brighton Hospital.
We’d like to wish everyone a safe, festive and happy Christmas. Thank you for your continued support.
Regards,
Brian and Jenny Hong