COVID-19: Update: Dental practices should remain open during new English lockdown

COVID-19: Update: Dental practices should remain open during new English lockdown

The Prime Minister has announced that, from midnight Thursday November 5, England will go into a nationwide lockdown until Wednesday December 2. Guidance has been issued from Gov.uk, which indicates that people will be allowed and encouraged to leave home for medical appointments and dental practices are not on the list of businesses that must close.

The guidance can be downloaded from:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

Extracts from guidance:

You may leave home “for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies, or to avoid or escape risk of injury or harm - such as domestic abuse”

“A number of public services will also stay open and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

  • the NHS and medical services like GPs. We are supporting the NHS to safely carry out urgent and non-urgent services and it is vital anyone who thinks they need any kind of medical care comes forward and seeks help.”

The furlough scheme, due to end on October 31, has been extended for a further month.

This advice from GDPUK is subject to detailed legal measures which will be laid before Parliament next week and voted on before the date of implementation, plus any further advice from the Office of the Chief Dental Officer for England.

Eddie Crouch, Chair of BDA PEC said this to GDPUK: "It will come as a relief to colleagues and their patients that the closure of practices as happened at the end of March will not be repeated during this lock down. I am proud of the way dentists and their teams have adapted to the pandemic as always setting exceptional standards for safe care of their patients and protecting staff. There are no reasons why dentistry should be closed down now or indeed through the continuation of this pandemic."

Leaders such as Jason Wong, Deputy CDO England have tweeted that dental practices will stay open.

BAPD also tweeted:

This confirms the Health Minister responsible agrees:
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