The Care Quality Commission (CQC) single assessment framework came into force on 13 May – what does this mean for inspection processes?
The CQC began inspecting dental practices using the single assessment framework on 13 May. Most practices may not notice a significant difference during inspections. However those last inspected before April 2015 may notice more changes.
What is staying the same?
- Good will still be good and practices that need to make improvements will still need to improve
- The five key questions will be the same (safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led)
- The regulations are still governed by the Health and Social Care Act
- Risk-based assessments will still be important
- 10% of dental practices will be inspected every year with a focus on inspecting practices that have not been inspected for a long time and practices that have never been inspected
- Dental practices will still not be rated.
Key areas of focus for inspectors
- Infection prevention and control
- Staffing – robust recruitment processes, sufficient competent staff, training and supervision
- Equipment and premises
- Delivering evidence-based care
- Good governance
- Safeguarding
- Consent and patient records
- Medicines management
- Complaints
- Caring and responsive care.
These are very similar to their current areas of focus.
Being faced with a CQC inspection can be a worrying time for any dental practice. Having a compliance management system in place can go a long way towards making sure you and your team are as prepared as possible, helping to ease some of the stress.
Dentistry Compliance is a complete end-to-end management solution that simplifies and integrates compliance into your daily business processes seamlessly, ensuring your practice meets current professional standards. For more information or to book a free demo, visit www.dentistry.co.uk/compliance.
What is changing?
The key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) have been replaced by 34 quality statements with practices being required to provide evidence of compliance with the relevant quality statement.
For each evidence category practices will be assessed as:
- Regulations met or
- Regulations not all met.
There will be a significant emphasis on feedback from patients and team members.
How can we help?
Here at Dentistry Compliance powered by Apolline, we already support hundreds of dental practices of all sizes. Our compliance software ensures our clients and members have all they need to navigate the CQC’s requirements.
One of our flagship resources within our software is our patient and staff satisfaction surveys. The tool provides real-time feedback and national benchmarking – both of which will allow you to demonstrate to the CQC that you comply with their focus on feedback.
As your trusted partner in compliance, we are dedicated to ensuring that your practice remains well-prepared and equipped to meet the evolving regulatory landscape.
Book a short demo at www.dentistry.co.uk/compliance or contact our team on 0800 193 1033.
