Once you have negotiated the CQC registration process, the main problem is remaining registered. The CQC will not register a non-compliant practice and, if on application, you say that you are going to do something to be compliant, the CQC will give you a short time after opening to meet that promise. After that, it is up to you to stay compliant with its rules and regulations.
This is where we can help. We have been involved with the CQC since it began regulating dentistry back in 2010, so we have a great deal of experience and a deep understanding of dental compliance. Our team can assist you in becoming compliant and maintaining that compliance. With our support, dentists tell us that they feel confident at CQC interviews and inspections. In addition, compliant practices also tend to run more smoothly, have better staff morale and improved patient satisfaction.
What does CQC dental compliance entail?
If someone undertakes a regulated activity, they must be registered with the CQC. For dentists, these activities are the “treatment of disease, disorder or injury”, “surgical procedures” and “diagnostic and screening procedures”. Doing one or more of these (and dentists tend to do all three), puts you in the CQC fold.
Once you are registered, the CQC demand that you be compliant with their rules, which requires that all registrants ensure they meet the five key requirements; that your practice is safe, well-led, effective, caring, and responsive.
This can be rather vague and difficult to quantify, so we have linked them to tangible actions. Below, they are outlined in order of importance, starting with safe and well-led, which have a number of overlapping issues.
Is my practice safe?
You are required to ensure that your patients and staff are protected from avoidable harm, and abuse. In this sense, abuse includes physical, mental, financial, and discriminatory abuse, so it is a wide definition.
Our advice on CQC dental compliance requirements lists over 50 elements a practice might need to prove your practice’s compliance with the safety requirement, ranging from a robust recruitment procedure through to having sufficient team members to manage unexpected or planned absences, and infection control issues.
Is my practice well-led?
This is very closely linked to the safety requirement; if the CQC sees that an employee or associate does not meet a requirement, they take the view that it is because the practice lacks leadership. It can be harsh, but it ensures that the practice owner or CQC provider keeps a keen eye on everyone else at the practice.
Like the “safe” element, our advice on CQC compliance requirements lists over 30 ways in which you can demonstrate that you are meeting them. Examples might include having clear responsibilities, roles, and systems of accountability in the practice, and a culture of high-quality care.
Being well-led means that the leadership, management, and governance of your practice assures the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care; supports learning and innovation; and promotes an open and fair culture. Within this, you will need effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance. You may also engage with your patients, learning from them as to how you could continuously improve your service.
These two key questions, safe and well-led, are the two main areas the CQC inspect; compliance in these two areas will normally mean overall compliance for the practice, as they are the best indicators of whether a practice is delivering safe, high-quality treatment to patients.
Is my practice effective, caring and responsive?
These remaining three indicators are also important. The effective element means that the treatment provided is as good as it can be (based on the best available evidence) and that the practice does its bit to promote a good quality of life for patients.
The point relating to caring means you treating patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. In relation to that, patients are supported to be involved in their own care. A recent CQC report on this said:
“Staff helped patients to be involved in decisions about their care and gave patients clear information to help them make informed choices about their treatment.”
Finally, to the question of being responsive. This means that the services you provide meet the needs of individual patients and are delivered in a way to ensure flexibility and choice. A recent CQC report on this said:
“The practice had made reasonable adjustments, including a portable ramp to enable entry to the practice for patients with access requirements. Staff had carried out a disability access audit and had formulated an action plan to continually improve access for patients.”
In conclusion, despite the fear and trepidation generated around CQC dental compliance inspections, the vast majority of practices have very few issues at all. Those issues which are flagged up during inspections are normally resolved then and there. At a recent meeting, the CQC confirmed that 89% of all practices inspected were found to have no issues at all; because on the whole, the CQC inspections want to ensure that the everyday workings of practices are up to standard.
NOTE TO DIGITAL: Please can we have a promo box leading here:
Our comprehensive dental compliance advice covers everything from preparing for practice inspections, to infection control, and emergency drugs and equipment. Find out more.