A new dental suite at Cheshunt Community Hospital in Hertfordshire has been designed specifically for people with special needs.

A former minor surgery wing has been transformed into a dental facility for patients with physical and learning disabilities as well as serious medical conditions.

The clinic comprises three surgery areas and benefits from additional accessibility, with wheelchair and step-free access as well as larger dental chairs designed for easier access for those with special needs.

And a new sensory room features a film wall with high-definition projection, bubble tubes, and tranquil lighting and sound systems.

Modern and specialist care

Ingleton Wood was appointed to provide multi-disciplinary services for the project, including architecture, project management, quantity surveying, mechanical and electrical consultancy.

Chris Mabbutt, partner at Ingleton Wood, said: “We were pleased to project manage this important community development, which was delivered despite the unique challenges of working in a busy healthcare environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We worked closely with Hertfordshire Special Care Dental Service to design and deliver the new suite, which will provide modern and specialist dental care to patients with special needs across Hertfordshire for generations to come.”

The clinic also boasts improved ventilation systems with large-scale air handling units installed to provide staff, patients, and visitors with high standards of indoor air quality.

Experts with experience

Una Monaghan, clinical director of special care dental service at Hertfordshire Community Trust, said: “We are so pleased with our wonderful new clinic and have had a lot of very positive comments from our patients.

“The sensory room, in particular, is proving extremely popular with many adults and children, who find it helps them to cope better with their dental treatment.”

She added: “The clinics were designed with support from an expert with experience from the learning disability community and we genuinely believe this wonderful new facility is ideally placed to enable us to continue to deliver outstanding dental treatment.”