Call us: 0151 521 3515 reception@countyroaddental.co.uk

Practice Closure – Monday 19th September

Practice Closure - Monday 19th September

Following the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral on Monday 19th September will be a national bank holiday, we have taken the decision to close.  This will allow our team to take the opportunity to commemorate and celebrate the life of Her Majesty. 

We appreciate that this may be frustrating for those patients who have appointments with us on Monday, but rest assured that one of the team will be in touch to reschedule.

An Inspector calls!

An Inspector calls!

Like all dental practices in England, County Road Dental Practice is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).  Two Inspectors from the CQQ came out to inspect our services on 25 January 2022 and issued our report in February.  They inspected our surgeries and facilities, our clinical records and staff records, our equipment and mandatory certificates and interviewed a number of team members.  We were delighted with their feedback and our CQC report concludes that we are safe, effective and well led, with no follow up actions.  This is testament to the hard work of all of our team members.  

 

page4image1575597040

Caring for you during COVID-19

Following the government announcement on the 1 November, I want to reassure you all that we will remain open to provide dental care to our existing patients.  We continue to prioritise those who have urgent needs and we are not yet offering routine appointments (unless you have been contacted by us).  I’m sad to say that we currently do not have capacity to take on new NHS patients.    

Please do not come to the practice without an appointment.  We continue to operate a telephone triage service, where a Dentist will assess you via telephone and make any appointments that you require.  Our lines are very busy, particularly between the hours of 9am – 11am, so avoid these times if you can.  If you do not get through, please leave a voice message.  Alternatively, email reception@countyroadental.co.uk 

We really appreciate your patience during 2020.  Our capacity to see you face to face has been radically reduced (from approximately 15 patients per hour to 2-3).  We share your frustrations but equally, we know we have a responsibility to keep you and our colleagues safe.  

Information on attending a pre-arranged appointment

Form filling – it is vital that you complete your forms (COVID screening, medical history, NHS form (unless you are a Practice Plan patient) and personal details) IN ADVANCE.  Please give us your email address so that you can complete them from the comfort of your own home.  If you can’t do this, then a member of our Reception team can do it over the phone, but it does take up a lot of precious time.  Also, for NHS patients, we can complete the form on your behalf, but you must be absolutely certain of your exemption from having to pay NHS charges.  Although we are signing on your behalf you will still be liable for any fines that are imposed by the NHS for incorrectly claiming of exemption.  So if you can, please please do those forms electronically!

Waiting room – At present the waiting room is only available to frail / elderly patients who do not have a car to wait in. For everyone else, please wait until your appointment time, when you can ring the door bell.

Attend on your own – you need to attend your appointment on your own, unless you have made arrangements with us in advance.

Other precautions – upon entry, we will ask you to wear a mask and sanitise your hands. We will screen you for COVID 19. If you have any symptoms of COVID 19, you must not come to the practice, but let us know as soon as you are able.

PPE & infection control – for some dental treatments we now need to wear a higher level of PPE. Please don’t be alarmed, it is still us underneath the masks and gowns. Each surgery and common area undergoes a thorough clean between patients.

Dental charges – if there are charges to be paid we will ask that you pay over the telephone or using a contactless card on arrival (less than £45).   Our ability to take cash and give change will be greatly reduced as it is a key way of transmitting the virus.  

With my very best wishes

Paul Geoghegan, Principal Dentist

Paul Geoghan - Principle Dentist and Practice Owner

 

Caring for you during COVID-19

Following the surprise Government announcement on the 28th May, the team at County Road Dental are working hard to set up the practice so as we can safely resume face to face care of our patients.  Unfortunately, this is not a return to “business as usual”.  

There are two reasons for this;

  1. The need for social distancing and cross infection control will massively reduce the number of patients we can see face to face.    
  2. There are chronic shortages of our basic PPE and we cannot provide you with safe care without it.  We also need to source higher specification PPE for most dental procedures (eg scale and polish, fillings, crown and bridge work) as they create an aerosol which is believed to provide ideal conditions for spreading the COVID-19 virus.

We will start to assist those patients with the most urgent needs and then we will phase the return to more routine procedures and check-ups.  You do not need to call us to book routine check-ups as we have a record and our staff will be in touch when we can safely see you.  Also, please don’t attend the practice without an appointment.  I will continue to post updates to this site.

We thank you for your understanding if there is therefore a delay to the resumption of normal service.  Please rest assured, our absolute priority is to provide a safe treatment environment for our patients and staff as soon as possible.

Best wishes and stay safe

Paul Geoghegan (Principal Dentist)

Our Visit to Arnot St Mary C of E Primary School

Our Visit to Arnot St Mary C of E Primary School

We visited Arnot St Mary Primary School to take part in their aspirations week. The Practice owner Paul and Dental Nurse Samantha visited the reception and nursery classes today to chat to the children about what a dentist and a dental nurse does in their profession.

The purpose of the visit was to help the children begin to have an idea of what profession/job they would aspire to do when they are older and how they could achieve it.

The children were shown a skull and some instruments that the dentist uses, these were passed around for a closer inspection, the children enjoyed trying on the gloves and face masks as well. They were given a tooth brushing demonstration and all had a go with a mouth model. There was also a question and answer session at the end for the children to freely ask questions on any topics that were not covered. This was quite lively! They then all received a sticker from the dentist.

We enjoyed visiting the school and encouraging the children to take up dentistry in the future.


National Smile Month 2019

At County Road Dental Practice, we are committed to using national campaigns to promote good oral health and improve dental care and awareness in our local area.

This month is National Smile Month and we are using this campaign to encourage regular dental appointments and help people to cut down on how often sugary food is consumed in their diet.

This campaign runs between 13th May 2019 until 13th June 2019. For further information please visit the practice for free information leaflets and advice or visit www.smilemonth.org

Mr O’Gorman’s retirement

After 30+ years of providing dental

After practicing dentistry for 35 years, Mr O’Gorman (AKA BOG) has decided to announce his retirement. He thanks all of his patients for putting their trust in him for all of these years. In return, we thank him for his years of providing dentistry with warmth, good humour and integrity and for being an all round legend!

Mr O’Gorman’s last day is on Friday 31 May. If you are one of his patients and you would like to bring your six monthly recall forward so that you can see him before he retires, please contact reception.  Otherwise, from 1st June, your care will pass over to Mr. Paul Geoghegan (pronounced Geygan!). Paul has worked at the practice for over 17 years and was mentored by BOG after he graduated from Newcastle University Dental School.  Many of you will already have met Paul over the years as he has regularly provided emergency cover for BOG.    

If you are a member of our dental care plan, you don’t need to take any action. Practice Plan Limited is aware of the changes and will ensure your dental care benefits continue without interruption.  Finally, good luck BOG & Jo, enjoy a well earned retirement, full of cycling adventures!

NHS Dental charges increase on 1st April

From 1 April 2019 the statutory NHS patient charges for dentistry are as follows:

  • Band 1 – £22.70
  • Band 2 – £62.10
  • Band 3 – £269.30
  • Urgent – £22.70
  • Replacement appliance – £80.70 per appliance

This rise of 5% does not come to us but is helping cover nearly £550 million cuts to NHS dental services