Urgent dental care services in the South East
In light of public health infection control measures and continuing concerns about NHS dental care staff safety, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) has made significant changes to the delivery and operation of our dental services in the South East region.
Developing the local urgent dental care system
Across every NHS region a Local Urgent Dental Care system has been created to provide care for people with urgent and emergency dental problems.
Urgent Dental Care centres (also known as hubs) have been set up to meet the distinct needs of people with urgent dental care needs during the current pandemic:
- Those who are possible or confirmed COVID-19 patients – including patients with symptoms, or those living in their household.
- Those who are ‘shielded’, as being at most-significant risk from COVID-19.
- Those who are vulnerable/at increased risk from COVID-19.
- Any other people who do not fit one of the above categories.
The urgent dental care hubs allow appropriate separation and treatment of patients in these four categories.
All patients will need referral by a dentist, this may be a dentist they usually see or another local dental practice which should still be providing phone advice. Each patient will then be triaged by an urgent dental care hub depending on a number of factors and their care managed accordingly. Patients will be assessed as to whether they do need urgent treatment which cannot wait. Where patients are at risk or shielded, then they will be seen in appropriate settings. Where possible and safe, patients may be able to manage the dental problem themselves through taking painkillers or prescribed antibiotics to treat any dental infection. Face to face treatment is available when clinically required.
Drop-ins to urgent dental care hubs are not allowed given the need to protect patient and staff safety.
Locations of urgent dental hubs
Across the south east there are 36 urgent dental care hubs. In Elmbridge the hub is in Weybridge. The precise locations will not be publicised since access is by appointment only.
How will triage work?
Triage will be used to decide which category people fall into, depending on their symptoms and level of pain.
The triage categories are:
1. Requires immediate treatment on the day
2. Treatment as quickly as possible
3. Non-urgent (not requiring treatment in a hub setting)
Those involved in triage have a detailed operating procedure to help them categorise different dental conditions.
How do patients access these urgent hubs?
Patients with an urgent or emergency dental condition must not attend any hubs as they need to be triaged by a dentist first. This system also helps manage the flow to hubs and avoid queues (in line with social distancing measures).
If a patient has an urgent or emergency dental condition they should contact a dental practice for a telephone assessment to assess their dental needs. This could either be the dental practice they normally attend or an NHS practice nearest to their home address, which can be located on https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/dentists/
Out of usual surgery hours, you should call your local out of hours emergency dental service and if you are unsure of their contact details NHS111 will be able to provide this.
For further information, please contact the NHSE/I dental team in the South East at ENGLAND.southeastdental@nhs.net
21 April 2020