Chaperones, Family Members and Companions During Treatment
Our priority is to provide safe, high-quality care in a calm and professional clinical environment.
For this reason, family members, friends and other companions are not routinely permitted to accompany patients into the clinical treatment room during dental or oral surgery procedures.
This policy is in place for several important reasons:
To maintain the highest standards of infection prevention and control.
To protect patient privacy and confidentiality.
To ensure sufficient space for the clinical team to work safely and efficiently.
To allow immediate access to emergency equipment should it ever be required.
To minimise distractions so that our clinicians can focus entirely on the patient's treatment.
Occasionally, companions become distressed or feel faint during procedures. If this occurs, our clinical team must divert their attention away from the patient receiving treatment, which may compromise the safe delivery of care.
Before and After Your Treatment
Your companion is very welcome to accompany you to the practice and remain with you in the waiting area before and after your appointment. Our team will ensure that they are updated where appropriate and invited into the surgery if there is a clinical reason to discuss your treatment.
Patients Who Need Additional Support
We recognise that some patients require assistance because of disability, communication needs or vulnerability. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments and will always consider individual circumstances.
Examples include:
Patients living with dementia.
Patients with significant learning disabilities.
Patients with visual impairment.
Patients who require assistance with communication or decision-making.
Patients who require an authorised carer or legally authorised representative.
In these circumstances, a companion may accompany the patient where this is necessary to support their care. During the procedure itself, the clinician may ask the companion to step outside the treatment room if this can be done safely and is in the patient's best interests.
Clinician Discretion
Every patient is different. Our clinicians reserve the right to make exceptions to this policy where they consider it clinically appropriate or necessary as a reasonable adjustment.
This blog post was created by Emma Smith.