Barrow Street Dental

08/01/2022

Happy New Year (I know it is a bit late).
This year marks 30 years since I started working in St Helens, first in Hardshaw Street and in Barrow Street since 2009. I would like to say thanks to all my colleagues who have worked with me from Eileen, Lisa and Julie who were there in 1992 to Diane who has just started this week. It really doesn't seem like 30 years but the dates don't lie - I hope the next 30 don't go by so quickly (some people tell me I will still be working in 2052 but I somehow doubt it). Julie has somehow managed to stay the course and is still keeping us organised - special thanks for that level of endurance.
After the turbulence of late last year when Sarah and Katie moved on, we are starting to stabilise the boat with Diane joining the team, Kirsty increasing her working sessions and with Serena joining us later this month. I have a good feeling about this year but that may just be after the last two years I am weirdly optimistic - one certain thing in life is that the unexpected will happen, but let's all have a good year.
Take care and heart-felt best wishes for 2022!
Pete

19/12/2021

Seasons greetings to all who read this posting!
I would like to update everyone on the latest news from the practice. We have had a couple of major personnel changes recently – Sarah O’Brien left us last month to work nearer home on the Wirral and we have just said a sad farewell to Katie Campbell who is returning to her native Belfast. I would like to thank them for their hard work and caring professionalism – I hope their new practices appreciate them!
Although this leaves us short-staffed over the holiday period, we are open every working day and prioritising urgent care as well as offering some routine appointments. I am here daily with Kirsty (dentist) and Karen (hygienist) are working their usual sessions; we are continuing to work to the Covid Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) – minimising numbers of people mixing in the waiting room, screening patients for symptoms, everyone mask wearing at all times except during treatment and aerosol generating procedures being kept separate with “fallow time” between these appointments. While there has been some very premature advice about abandoning precautions from the government (with follow-up messages that we may keep the SOP if we feel it necessary), the wave of the Omicron Covid variant coming means the risks of transmitting the virus to staff and vulnerable patients is increasing greatly and the precautions remain in place.
With the New Year come a few changes to address the personnel issues. I am delighted that Kirsty is increasing her hours and we also look forward to welcoming our new dentist, Diane Parker. I have known Diane for many years and feel extremely fortunate to have her on board.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and hope for a return to some normality in 2022.
Peter Martin
19th December 2021

06/10/2021

• We have been asked to s[read the word about the current availability of NHS dental services:

Dental practices are open and seeing patients but the way care is accessed may be different.
• Dental practices are continuing to follow increased infection, prevention and control guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement, to resume face-to-face care as rapidly as practicable, while ensuring the safety of patients and staff
• Your practice will still look different than normal, as they continue to observe COVID-19 social distancing and hygiene rules. The dental team will be wearing different or additional protective equipment than you are used to seeing.
• Please be patient with dental practice staff. They are working extremely hard to restore dental services and ensure that services are safe for everyone.
• To support NHS services, it is important that you do not visit hospitals or doctors' surgeries with dental problems. Contact your dentist who will be able to help over the phone.
• Please continue to telephone your practice, rather than attending in person without an appointment.
• It is really important if you have an appointment with a dentist, to please make every effort to attend. If you can’t please let them know in advance so they can give your appointment to someone else.
• People with good oral health may need to attend for a check-up once every 12 to 24 months, but those with more problems may need to visit more often.
• Whilst we work to restore all non-urgent dental treatment which have stopped due to the pandemic, urgent help is still available, contact your dental practice for more information or call the dental helpline:
o Cheshire and Merseyside: 0161 476 9651

06/10/2021

21/09/2021

Check if you have an exemption from paying NHS Costs.

An NHS exemption certificate helps you to pay for your NHS costs, such as prescriptions or dental treatment.

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https://services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-my-nhs-exemption/

18/07/2021

Hi again, after a long delay. I am sorry if anyone feels neglected through our page but I deleted the app for a while after we were hacked from the Congo.
There are lots of things to talk about at the moment, with the easing of lockdown starting on the 19th July uppermost in the agenda. Although most businesses and services will open up, the guidelines we have to follow are specific to healthcare and are based on the increasing numbers of Covid cases. As such, we still require anyone in the practice to wear face masks until they are in the surgery (at which point it would be a bit awkward to practise dentistry with face coverings).
We are open for appointments, routine and urgent. We are working at reduced capacity and so need to prioritise patients with urgent problems, but please call for appointment availability.
I should be able to bring some more news soon but please be careful and have a great summer.
Pete

04/01/2021

A little update.
I am sure most of us will be aware of the new lockdown - schools and many shops closing, working from home and not meeting anyone. The new "level 5" status has been announced (as opposed to Tier 4!) which means hospitals are close to being overwhelmed with seriously ill patients. The lockdown last spring involved the closure of all dental practices, but this is not the case this time (at least for now) and we are being told to increase the numbers of patients attending. While I am glad we are not closing, I do feel that threatening financial punishment for keeping patients and staff safe seems daft.
We are available, however, and expect we will be open for the duration. We will make sure we are there for our patients suffering dental problems so the more routine visits may need to be delayed. Please stay safe and call if you need to. Pete.

31/12/2020

2020: (Beginning of) the end?
Writing this on the last day of 2020, it occurs to me that the end of any year comes a mixture of feelings. On the one hand there is the stark realisation that another year has gone by and we will never see it again. On the other, is a feeling of anticipation, even optimism, for the New Year and I think the sentiments of many of us are that “things can only get better” in 2021. Let’s hope that is right.
For everyone, including the team at Barrow Street, this has been an odd year. We have had 3 cases of Covid-19 in the staff but managed to ensure it didn’t close us down (we were lucky that they were diagnosed at times when the rest of us had little contact with the poor victims!) and all seem to have recovered well. Apart from the total lockdown in the spring (when PPE was kept from us and reserved for more urgent healthcare, although we were still in work) we were working with some adjustments to work practices to reduce the risks to patients and staff. We are open and steadily returning to some sort of normality (whatever that is) but still need to keep social distance measures in place: fewer and longer appointments, more time spent cleaning communal areas and lots of questions before we allow anyone in!
Having said we are trying to open up for more routine dentistry, we are in the middle of the largest increase in the rates of Covid-19 so far and the promised vaccination programme is in its very early stages. This means we need to maintain the special measures for a few months at least, although you would not know this from the recent orders handed down by the Department of Health where they are telling us to open up and hit targets for patient numbers. This seems at odds with the rising Tier levels and NHS dental practices will face severe NHS financial penalties if they don’t carry out enough courses of treatment – an odd way to encourage safe working practices. However, please be assured that we have been erring on the side of caution and will continue to do so, but please call if you need an appointment or if you need to know more.
Finally, from a personal perspective as well as a professional one, I was delighted to see the approval given to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. I am on the phase 3 trial and might already have been vaccinated (there is a 50:50 chance). However, I would like to encourage everyone to take up the offer of the vaccination as and when it is made. The tests have been done, it is safe and effective and will lead to a safer world for us all. Here’s to 2021.
Happy New Year!
Pete