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This from a dental friend:
"Another salutary Covid contact tale. 4 Dental nurses from the same practice out together in a pub all contact traced and now having to self isolate for 10 days!"
Now that the Government have decided that it's better we catch Covid during the summer, rather than later in the year, it seems likely that we will hear more stories like this one - and have to deal with the effects of that on our business.
We can expect little or no financial support from said politicians or sympathy from commissioning officers and suppliers if the pandemic proverbial hits the fan.
Effective communication to patients and to team members (see my blog yesterday) will be essential over the coming days and weeks - firstly to give leadership and guidance and secondly to manage expectations.
A sharing community is one that grows stronger together.
Yesterday I was able to share across my client base:
The letter used by a client to announce a move from one plan provider to another, explaining the reasons why, the benefits to the patient and the action required;
The letter/email that another client will send today to all patients, explaining the likely new protocols after Freedom Day (19th July for this English client) and asking the patients to show patience and respect as the team adjust to the new working conditions.
Both letters are simply excellent and the Freedom Day letter was greeted with acclaim on our weekly client Zoom call last night.
So many of us have agreed that Covid brought a previously fragmented profession together.
It's important that we keep that spirit of co-operation as we move into a summer of confusion and disruption.
Inform your patients and train your team on how you expect them to perform and behave in the next few critical months, as we are driven, like lab rats, into the next phase of the pandemic.