While new year’s resolutions rarely last, Pat Langley shares a few ‘quick wins’ to ensure your practice’s compliance this year.
Despite our best intentions on 2 January, I think we all know that our resolutions rarely make it past the first week of the year!
To avoid the inevitable disappointment this brings let’s think about some things you could do differently and some things to be aware of as you navigate your return to work through January. It might just be me, but the return to work comes as a shock after a long holiday!
Here’s our list of ‘quick wins’ for you to consider:
1. Be on virus alert
It won’t come as any surprise to anyone unfortunate enough to have succumbed to one of several very unpleasant viruses doing the rounds that we are living through what has imaginatively been dubbed a quademic. Seasonal flu, a resurgent COVID-19, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), and norovirus are all currently wreaking havoc. Some poor people are unlucky enough to contract two or more of these at once.
Why is this the first item on our list of ‘quick wins’ you may ask? The answer is simple: a dental team paralysed by multiple viral attacks is going to lead to cancelled days and all the inconvenience that entails, not to mention decreased productivity.
Mitigating the risks of this happening therefore counts as a ‘quick win’.
What does this mean in practice?
- Encourage team members with symptoms of any of these viruses to stay at home until their symptoms reduce and they no longer feel unwell. This is not always a popular suggestion if it involves not being paid for time off work. It will, however, pay dividends to the practice if it avoids a mini epidemic in the practice because other team members become unwell and are unable to work
- Consider delaying non-urgent appointments for patients who feel unwell or who have transmissible symptoms. Whilst this is the right thing to do for patients, it also helps mitigate the potential for spread within the practice team
- Maintain scrupulous hand hygiene. With thorough handwashing to two rounds of ‘Happy Birthday’ now as distant a memory as mince pies will be in a couple of weeks, it is well–documented that scrupulous handwashing is extremely important in reducing the spread of all infectious diseases
- Ensure frequently touched surfaces throughout the practice are cleaned thoroughly and frequently according to your environmental cleaning policy
- Immunisations – consider immunisations where applicable
- Consider reintroducing some of your risk-mitigation measures from the time COVID-19 was a major threat e.g. FFP3 or FFP2 masks
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing and maintain scrupulous respiratory hygiene. Catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue and immediately dispose of used tissues into a closed bin.
2. Think about small changes you could make as a team
We all get used to doing things the same way we’ve always done them and with humans often preferring to avoid change, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut.
Think about everything you do in the practice and consider what small changes you could make to your systems and processes that would make your practice run more smoothly. Include the whole team in this exercise and make it a rule that all constructive ideas have merit and should be explored. Often significant improvements can grow out of ideas that at first may sound far-fetched.
For example, ask yourselves:
- Is our recall system cost effective and efficient?
- Is our laboratory work always here when we are expecting it?
- Are all our policies up to date with a review date?
- Do we have more practice policies than we really need, or could we declutter our policies?
- Does our system for emergency cover work efficiently and effectively or could we improve on it?
- Do we have a good understanding of what our patients and staff think and how they rate us? If the answer is no, or we’re not sure, consider gathering feedback and discussing it at a team meeting.
Fulfil all your compliance requirements with Dentistry Compliance. Visit dentistry.co.uk/compliance for more information or simply book a Dental Compliance Health Check with one of our compliance consultants.
3. Appreciate your whole team
Every member of your team plays an important role in the smooth running of your practice. With retention and the current difficulties with recruitment well-documented as one of the biggest concerns practices are facing, retaining good team members has never been more important.
Think about how you can show your appreciation of and to every member of your dental team.
For example, ask yourselves:
- How do we define our whole team?
- Do we include the cleaner?
- Do we regularly thank everyone for their contributions, or could we do more to show our team how much we appreciate them?
4. Plan your CPD for the year
Think about what you want to achieve in the coming year. Do you need to attend courses to help you develop new skills or to enhance existing skills? Dental professionals can often get stuck in a CPD rut and end up doing the same courses year after year.
Think about professional development for all team members and ask the same questions.
Think about how you will achieve blended learning. The GDC rightly places significant emphasis on a combination of different types of learning. Make sure you plan for what you will do face-to-face, what you will do online eg webinars, and what you will do as online CPD.
Will you attend any of the dental shows, which often feature free CPD lectures delivered by well-respected, credible speakers?
All in all, a lot to think about as we embark on a new year, and this is by no means an exhaustive list of things you could think about. I hope it has created some ‘food for thought’ to get started!
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