lockdown

England and Scotland enter new lockdowns; dentistry ‘unaffected’

On Monday 4th January, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that from midnight (5th January), the country would be put into a full lockdown as Coronavirus cases continue to surge. Just hours later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the nation in a pre-recorded televised announcement, confirming that England too would enter a new national lockdown – one that resembled more the one from March/April 2020. The new lockdown, which sees schools once again closed in another government U-turn, will reportedly not affect dentistry – on the surface at least.

The original lockdown during the Spring of 2020 saw dental practices closed for almost three months. They were able to reopen from 8th June, although it was a slow start for many as the profession grappled with new SOP measures in efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Patient numbers remain much lower than pre-pandemic, in part due to increased fallow time.

As Scotland enters its latest lockdown, the British Dental Association (BDA) has ‘received confirmation from the Chief Dental Officer that the national lockdown from 5th January will have no impact on dentistry’. The Association has ‘argued that the full range of NHS treatments should not be available while the new virus strain continues to spread significantly. However, the Scottish Government’s position remains unchanged’ as: essential travel includes leaving home for healthcare and dentistry is deemed essential healthcare, meaning it can therefore continue under the revised restrictions announced by the First Minister. The BDA also states that ‘aesthetic treatment is not essential healthcare (and not available on the NHS) and should not be undertaken’.

Scotland’s CDO, Tom Ferris, also reiterated, via the BDA, that if a patient attends a dentist with a concern then the full range of clinical dental care should remain available to the dentist in order to manage the patient’s condition.

Meanwhile, CDO England, Sara Hurley, issued an update immediately following Boris Johnson’s announcement of England’s latest lockdown measures, confirming that ‘dental services are to remain open and see patients’.

Hurley noted that dental professionals are defined by the Government as critical workers, adding: ‘Dentistry is an essential medical service. It is a priority for the NHS. Patients are entitled to travel for medical appointments, include dental. I have included some useful resources in this bulletin for NHS practices to spread the word that dental services are open and seeing patients, please use them.’

The Government guidance on the national lockdown states: ‘The majority of public services will continue and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include the NHS and medical services like GPs and dentists.’

The BDA also reiterated that ‘services should be carried out in line with the current standard operating procedure (SOPs) . Remote consultation, triage and risk assessment remain key prior to patient attendance for face to face dental care. Social distancing measures remain in place and PPE levels as stated for low, medium and high risk assessed patients remain.’

While dental practices remain open for business unlike last Spring, there will most likely be an impact felt as more patients opt to stay home rather than attend appointments, among other factors. Therefore, the BDA has issued an open letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, urging the government to abandon NHS targets that will be ‘impossible to achieve under the new national lockdown, and which risk putting hundreds of practices out of business’.

In addition to patients’ reluctance to continue with dental appointments, the BDA believes that ‘the NHS targets will force dentists to prioritise routine check-ups for the “worried-well” over a time-consuming urgent backlog’. MPs are set to debate the imposition of these targets at a Backbench Business debate on 14 January.

Dental Group know the drill when it comes to nailing a performance

Dentists, nurses, hygienists and administrative staff were amongst the singers, musicians and performers who made a success of a lockdown concert for staff with Scotland’s fastest growing dental group.

More than 150 Clyde Munro employees and suppliers took part in an online two-hour gig to connect with colleagues across Scotland and have some fun in a concert billed as ‘The Lockdown’.

Bosses with Clyde Munro have been looking at creative ways to keep up the morale of their 500-strong team, made up of dentists, practice and support centre staff, who are either working from home or furloughed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The brains behind the operation was Clyde Munro founder, Jim Hall, who launched the business in 2015 with the acquisition of seven practices. He said: “The Lockdown concert was a great success and all of the acts were a big hit amongst their colleagues.

“Everyone was blown away by the talent of the performers, we couldn’t quite believe how many musically talented people we had hiding in our practices across the country.”

Entrepreneur Jim said the concert was conceived to bring the Clyde Munro team together in a virtual setting and to lift spirits while helping the team to enjoy an evening of music and singing with everyone participating via Zoom video call.

He added: “We wanted to help take minds off all the worrying stuff that is going on in the world even for a few hours – and judging by the positive feedback, we definitely achieved that.”

At the start of April, as the full extent of the lockdown started to sink in, Jim knew that keeping in touch with staff and maintaining a high morale would be essential to ensuring the business comes through the virus crisis in the best possible shape.

So he tasked his team to come up with fun events to keep staff connected, starting with an Easter Bonnet competition and culminating with the ambitious Lockdown concert on Friday 24 April. Participants even took part in meticulous rehearsals ahead of the big night.

Jim added: “The team really got into the spirit and many even dressed up as if they were going to a summer music festival which was great as it meant even those who were not performing, still got involved and contributing to the atmosphere. It was a fun night that people will remember for a long time.”

Clyde Munro comprises 40 practices across Scotland, with more than 200 dentists, 350 staff and 300,000 patients.

The group’s ambition is to become Scotland’s “local dentist”, operating an expanding network of family dentists across Scotland, with each devoted to providing the best dental care, while reflecting the needs and character of its community.