80 years of
COMBINED EXPERIENCE
We have the know-how you need.
Millwater Dental
precautions at
Red Covid 19Protection Framework
Scroll Down
Steps to limit transmission for all patients during Red Covid-19 Protection Framework
We take your health and the health of our staff very seriously so we have a comprehensive plan set for your visit. Please read the following information to help understand some of the precautions we are undertaking and what you may expect during your visit with us.
Patient scheduling and management.
-
We will continue to screen patients and any accompanying support people for COVID-19 symptoms before booking, and again when you arrive for an appointment.
-
If the support person answers ‘yes’ to any of the COVID-19 screening questions, and no alternative support person is available, we ask that the support person wears a mask before entering the practice.
-
-
We will schedule and manage patients to limit the time they spend in common areas, such as the waiting room, to minimise contact with others. For example, when you arrive you may be asked to wait outside of the practice until your appointment time so that you can be escorted directly into the clinical area.
-
This is particularly important when we are providing care for patients who are 70 years and over or those considered high risk for severe COVID-19 infection because of a pre-existing health condition.*
-
-
We ask you to arrive as close as possible to your appointment time.
-
The front door will be your point of entry into the Millwater Dental facility. This door will be locked and we will let you in at the appropriate time.
-
We have a QR code that has been posted in the reception area, please make sure you scan this as you enter.
-
You will see visual alerts posted (e.g. signs, posters) at the entrance and in strategic places (e.g. waiting areas, clinics) that provide instructions about hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette. Please read these.
-
If you feel the need to cough, please cough into the crook of your elbow or use tissues to cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. Dispose of tissues and contaminated items in the bin provided, and please perform hand hygiene again.
-
We will provide supplies for respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, including alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), tissues, and a bin for rubbish disposal, at the entrance to the clinic, and clinical areas.
-
We request patients to ‘hand sanitise’ on arrival and departure from the clinic.
-
We will continue to practice social distancing wherever possible (between staff; and between staff and patients).
-
Please limit the number of people providing patient support in the treatment area to one.
-
We will be generous with appointment times to allow careful, unrushed attention to infection control procedures.
*Patients considered high risk for severe COVID-19 include those with serious respiratory disease, serious heart conditions, immunocompromised conditions, severe obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease or those undergoing dialysis, and liver disease; and pregnant patients
Waiting areas
-
All unnecessary items will be removed from the waiting room, such as magazines and toys, and surfaces kept clear and clean.
-
The waiting room chairs will be separated.
-
We will clean surfaces (door handles, chair arms, reception counter etc.) regularly with a detergent solution or ready-made detergent wipes.
-
Areas of known contamination will be cleaned and disinfected according to the Dental Council’s Infection Prevention and Control Practice Standard.
Contact tracing
• We are required to maintain a contact register for all people entering the dental office. If you do not have an appointment, we will ask for your phone and email details to maintain this contact register. The register will include the date and time of entry and exit.
We have a QR code that has been posted in the reception area, please make sure you scan this as you enter.
Our Team management
-
If any of our team members are unwell, they will stay home.
-
We have introduced measures to monitor our own health and that of our team.
-
Our team members are organised so that they work within a team ‘bubble’ when delivering clinical care, to limit the number of potential close contacts between clinical team members and to make the tracing of team members to patients simpler.
-
At this level, we will continue to limit our social interaction outside of work as much as possible.
-
We understand the risks associated with dental practice during COVID- 19 Alert Levels, and we are taking these measures to mitigate the risks.
Hand hygiene
-
All clinical team members will perform hand hygiene before and after all patient contact, and contact with potentially infectious material, and before putting on and after removing personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves. Hand hygiene is done after removing PPE as it is particularly important to remove any pathogens that might have been transferred to bare hands during the removal process.
-
Our clinical team members will perform hand hygiene by using ABHR with 60-95% alcohol or washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
-
Hand hygiene supplies are readily available to all staff in every care location.
Personal protective equipment
-
All staff will select appropriate PPE in accordance with the PPE requirements specified by the Dental Council
-
We also will not wear scrubs outside of the practice setting.
-
All our team have received training in and demonstrated an understanding of:
-
when to use PPE
-
what PPE is necessary
-
how to properly put on and take off PPE in a manner to prevent self-contamination.
-
Any reusable PPE will be properly cleaned, decontaminated, and maintained after and between uses.