How Moreton Dental Will Always Be Here For You

Dear patients and friends,

I have wanted to write to you all for a while now but unfortunately, I had very little news that I could pass on to you that wasn’t just speculation and I didn’t want to add any more confusion to an already difficult time.

Firstly, I’d like to say thank you so much for all the well wishes and kind words passed onto me while my family was stuck in New Zealand. It was probably the worst decision I have ever made to go, but the whole reason for the trip was because I was Matron of honour and hindsight is always a wonderful thing! The most important thing is we managed to get back relatively unscathed although I think long haul flights with children is now a definite no-no in our family and I have a new found respect to any family that can.

My next expression of gratitude is to my staff who had to cope in the first two weeks while I was on the other side of the world. We were lucky we have technology that helps with communications but it’s never the same as being in the trenches together and I felt they did a fantastic job and I was really proud of how they did their absolute best despite two weeks without any true clear guidance from our governing bodies, both the General Dental Council (GDC) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

And finally, last but by no way least a huge thank you to our patients for understanding the constraints put upon us by the powers that be and being so sympathetic to having their appointments cancelled, rearranged and generally disrupted. We are devastated that we currently cannot open as usual and help you as much as we would like to but everyone being so understanding about this has made it a much easier pill to swallow.

We have hope though and we have systems in place which I want to explain in a little more depth. Yes, the practice is closed and we cannot open until restrictions are lifted by both the CQC and GDC but we can help in other ways. If you ring the practice phone it is diverted to my mobile which I am trying my best to keep with me but if I do miss a call I will ring back as soon as I can. As we all know the Cotswolds aren’t exactly well known for good signal but you will speak to me and we are already finding this is a huge comfort to the patients that have already needed our help. An answerphone is frustrating at the best of times let alone when you have toothache, so we hope this will reassure patients we are still here for you.

You can also email and again that comes straight through to me, so if it is something less urgent this is also a user-friendly form of accessing advice. However, sadly there is little we can actually do as you can imagine over a phone. We have a clear triage system in place so we can assess how urgently you need care but please also be aware that at the moment we have no government hub available to us. There is a hub being opened in Cheltenham which was predicted to be opened on 9th April but it is still in amber status. When this turns green, we should be able to refer those in dire need. The nearest hub that has green status at the moment is in Bristol so hang in there, it is happening and obviously has been done so a little more patience and I think we will start to have some more solid solutions.

Finally, my best advice is please please please keep up with your oral hygiene routine and if you can, work as hard as you can to even improve it. Our Facebook page has a number of video’s demonstrating interdental cleaning (on myself!) and I will upload a routine tick list soon so we can all try to impress Claire our hygienist when we re-open on how well we have done! It will be difficult to use the excuse that we didn’t have the time! And remember, more than ever before, prevention is better than cure. If you are running out of interdental sticks please email me and I can arrange for either collection or delivery.

So please try not worry, Moreton in Marsh Dental is here for you in both the good times and bad. Together we will get through this, so try to stay positive and I really hope to see you all as soon as we can.

Best wishes,

Caroline.