COVID-19 Update from Dr Martin Jest Dental Surgery and Lodgehill Health
Dear patients,
COVID-19 has been a very difficult time for all of us. Many of you were forced to wait for dental care, and we deeply appreciate your understanding while we kept our practice closed to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
Most of you are probably aware that we are back to full work hours and are seeing all patients once again.
Your health and well-being continue to be our highest priority, and we are ONLY opening because we have carefully planned and revised our practice procedures to greatly minimize the risk of infection for our patients and our team members. Our own families are also patients here, so you can be assured that we’ll be taking care of you just as well as we’ll be taking care of them.
For your peace of mind, the measures we will be taking to provide a safe dental treatment experience include, but are not limited to, the following:
Upon Your Arrival at the practice
● Patients will be screened BEFORE entering the practice and temperatures will be checked on entry. Any patients showing signs of a fever or other symptoms of illness will be asked to reschedule their appointment.
● ONLY patients and guardians be allowed entry into the practice. We ask that a second parent and other family members wait outside whenever possible.
● Patients are asked to wait in their cars or outside the practice until their scheduled appointment time. We will call you when we are ready to take you into the clinic room.
● The waiting area chairs have been reduced in number and will be spaced apart to allow for social distancing.
● We will ask that you continue to practice social distancing measures in common areas of the practice, including the front desk.
● The front door handles are cleaned between each patient entry. Internal doors will be regularly disinfected and handled by staff only.
● There will be no physical contact with patients with the exception of treatment.
During Treatment
● All treatment rooms will be disinfected before each patient is seated, and public areas, including restrooms, will be cleaned and disinfected frequently throughout the day.
● Our team will STRICTLY follow guidelines set forth by the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, Occupational Health Services Australia, and Australian Dental Association in regards to personal protective equipment (PPE), practice disinfection and sterilization of reusable instruments.
● During patient care, goggles or protective glasses will be worn by staff and disinfected between patients.
● All surfaces that came in contact with the patient will be wiped with disinfectant including the patient chair and the accessory chair where the patient placed their personal items.
Checking Out After Your Appointment
● After every transaction, the checkout desk and will be wiped with a disinfectant.
● We prefer financial transactions using electronic means and not cash wherever possible. We ask patients to swipe their own health fund cards through the eftpos terminal and that you “hover” your cards over the terminal so no contact is made.
● For staff and patient protection we have fitted a “sneeze screen” on the front desk to help minimize aerosol spread of infection. Transactions will be undertaken through a slot under the screen.
We are proceeding with an abundance of caution, but we want you to feel as confident as we do that any visit you make to our practice will be a safe one.
We also realize that many of you have been impacted financially during this outbreak, and we are offering some solutions to keep dental care affordable for you and your family.
To discuss these payment options, schedule an appointment, or ask us any questions you may have about your next visit, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 07 3359 1996
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Dr Martin Jest and Staff
