Practice Information

PRESENT ML, CN, MC, RS, ZT, SB, OC

Surgery

-  Clean boxes in the decon room- take out lint cloths at end of day and leave empty overnight.

- Charging appts through - Nurses- please charge through appts before pt leaves the surgery- especially with hyg’s and JS. Clinicians can still finish their notes after it has been charged- just click that you do NOT want to complete appt. This allows reception to take the correct money and send a receipt. We can’t produce a receipt until it is charged therefore there can be hold up at reception.  If it a ‘view’ and you are unsure of whether there is a charge, just remind dentist to charge through before starting their notes.

- Note taking- I am looking at the way nurses help record the notes at exams, treatment appts etc. It is helpful if the nurse can get as many of the notes done as possible- AS THE DENTIST WANTS THEM- then the dentist/hyg can just review and add anything extra if required- eg. cons.appt- when the LA is in or when polishing at the end. Exams- please complete all fields. The recent exam note audit shows EO gets missed in CN surg all the time. I will look at the template and make it clearer. If  anyone unsure ask me, Becky or dentist.

- BPES / bl index- if recording a bleeding index, please still but the B’s on the BPE.

- Labwork- nurses still need to be checking their day list at the beginning of the day and let reception know if we need labs.

- Hyg surgery samples – still some KIN/TEPE samples that will go out of date in next few months – please use up.

- Uniform/ laundry - New uniform all ordered, expected to be delivered mid-August, ready for the new regime in September. I am also looking at a reception uniform.

Just a reminder as per HTM01-05,  all clinical staff should wear a clean set of scrubs each day. These were traditionally meant to be laundered at 60 C, however the HTM 01-05 says ’ Uniforms and workwear should be washed at the hottest temperature suitable for the fabric to reduce any potential microbial contamination’. If the new scrubs say lower than this and you are concerned- maybe use antibacterial detergent ??

Also, I’ve had it mentioned that dirty scrubs are being hung up on the bathroom door- please can we not do this please as people hang their own clothes there. Please put in a bag or use the lockers/baskets in cloakroom.

- Nails- I have noticed some staff are wearing nail varnish- HTM 01-05 states no nail varnish/false nails, however recent research shows that GEL nails do not trap bacteria- I do have a study to use as evidence and I will amend our policy to mitigate this. However, this only covers GEL POLISH, normal nail varnish must not be worn and no false nails; more importantly nails must not show above fingertips. Also, if wearing gel for work, neutral colours only. As gel lasts a while, they must still be filed short.

General

-  Cardboard/paper is now being stored in the cellar as we need to separate paper/card for the recycling collector. There is a small basket under the x-ray machine for paper. Please take cardboard esp. glove boxes to the cellar- please don’t put on top of filing cabinets. Also please put in correct bag.

- WhatsApp group- please remember no messages after 9pm.

- Fridays/Weekends- please only message me/call if it’s really important or it is something that will impact Monday morning. Please leave a note on my desk or set a task; it is likely I can’t sort till Monday anyway.

- Illness- as we previously used to do- please call me from 630am on the day of illness, if I don’t answer, I will see missed call and then call you back. Don’t send WhatsApp messages as I don’t always see them.

- MC endo sessions- Mike is now doing regular endo only sessions. These are shown as blue stripes in the appt book. There are a few random sessions but moving forward they will be every third Monday Morning. These are intended for the referral patients only- when booking a referral pt in always offer these slots first.

Please do not book Denplan Care pts in these sessions. MC will let reception know if pt is unsuitable for complete 2 hr. endo appointment.

-Endo Referral Tracker- I have made an endo referral tracker that will be on the desktop of both reception computers. Please put all referrals on here and check weekly. This will also keep a track on all aspects of referrals including consent forms, reports being sent to referring dentist, letting referring practice know if we fail to contact a patient or if patient doesn’t return for treatment (there are email templates for both these options). When referral received, put patient details on Exact, put on TRACKER, then set the same task for MC and REC2- MC can add ‘OK TO BOOK’ – it will then stay on REC2 tasks to contact pt.

Minor Bits

- Pop ups- read them and act upon them, if no longer relevant delete

- Treatment blocks- please don’t put exams in treatment blocks unless you can move the block- just had to reap 2 in Sept/Oct

- TW consent (TW1 appts)- please print off the day before and put with day lists. TW consent now includes exposed dentine.

- Letters When saving/scanning  letters/reports, please put who/ where from, not just ‘letter’.

- Referred from box on Exact- Please complete ‘referred from’ box on pts details and please still ask new patients how they heard about us- helps with marketing and opens up the dialogue. On recent new patient exam audit, this is routinely not being asked by all clinicians.

- Cancelled appts- If pt cancels and doesn’t rebook, put note if poss.

Marketing

- Poss. opportunity as a local practice has stopped Denplan and moved to a Wellness package. We have had a few pts call and book in and some calls asking for info. We had a man called in yesterday asking about Denplan Care obviously we do not now offer Denplan Care.

However, we need to try and sell ourselves and explain Denplan Essentials positively. I quite like the phrase – ‘with Denplan Plan Care you are paying a high price for your Dental History not your Dental Future’- Please explain if they attend regularly and are dentally stable it’s only £17.50 per month and should they need treatment a fab 15% off routine treatment. Also offer to send info pack and fee guide.

We need to focus our attention on getting Laura busier especially as we have Fleur starting on 08/09/2025 as a longer-term locum.

I will look at some more advertising on social media focusing on our Denplan Ess offer, on some other groups other than We Love Bramhall- a few suggestions were made today. I will arrange another leaflet drop, possibly tweaking the design of our leaflet to highlight Denplan Ess more.

Next Wednesday is my birthday !!

LUNCH booked for Turquoise café at 1245.

AND HAVE YOU HEARD……..

MIKE has entered an IRONMAN competition next May !!!💪💪💪

Thank you for all your hard work and making a fabulous place to work !!

Mandy 😊