A helping hand for your next inspection
UncategorisedPosted by: Dental Design 17th December 2023
If your practice received the notice for an inspection tomorrow morning, would you be ready?
Alongside clinical safety, creating a safe working environment is essential to meet the expectations of leading healthcare bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
These inspections are not only a key way for governing bodies to assess your care provision, but also for patients to understand the safety of the treatment and the quality of services they can expect. It is important that professionals refresh their knowledge of guidelines that ensure effective care can take place, especially with regards to infection control. After all, it can make a fundamental difference to the protection of patient and clinician health, alongside the reputation of your practice.
Meeting demands
Within an inspection, there is a wide range of targets that should be met to prove that your practice provides outstanding care. These principles ask questions of the practice’s safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness, and the quality of leadership. Infection control measures fall under safety, of course, and the CQC will look to ensure that processes are in place to reliably prevent and protect people from a healthcare-associated infection.[1]
Hand hygiene plays an immeasurably pivotal role in infection control. The most common form of pathogen transmission is via the hands,[2] and without consistent and dedicated attention from clinicians, patients can inevitably be put at risk. Effective hygiene facilities should also be made available to patients, for their own safety and that of everyone else in the practice.
Know your targets
To fulfil the demands of an inspection, there are set hand hygiene principles for dental professionals to follow. For clarification, hand hygiene is not limited to handwashing, but includes the addition, where appropriate, of solutions such as anti-bacterial hand-rubs or gels.
It is vital that proper handwashing is practised at key stages throughout a typical day. These moments include: before and after each treatment session, before and after the removal of PPE, following the washing of dental instruments, the completion of decontamination work, before contact with a steam-sterilised instrument, and after the cleaning or maintenance of decontamination devices.[3]
Maintaining easy access to hand hygiene sources throughout the practice is important. It’s recommended that wall mounted liquid soaps and antimicrobial hand rub dispensers are placed above or adjacent to a handwashing sink.[4] It could also be useful to provide hand sanitisation stations in frequented staff and patient areas, such as a waiting room or entranceway, to encourage comprehensive infection control where a sink is not available.
Patient views
Inspections are also used to inform the general public about the safety standards of dental practices within their area. The CQC states that patients should expect their dental practice to be safe as staff will be knowledgeable and experienced, and the premises and equipment will be kept hygienic in order to protect them from infection.[5]
Patients can see the results of inspections online, and if they observe poor outcomes, your reputation as a care provider may immediately be damaged – potentially prompting some of your existing patient base to turn away from a once trustworthy point of care.
The impact of infection control measures is reflected heavily in patient concerns when choosing a dental practice. One survey found that a hygienic surgery is an important priority for 90% of patients, only beaten out of top spot by the quality of care and their trust in the practitioner.[6] If they look online for a new provider and find a CQC report or local news article that reflects poorly on your practice’s infection prevention, they may be inclined to seek treatment elsewhere.
Excellent hand hygiene is also something patients could be looking out for. Patients understand that the materials and instruments used in dentistry pose a danger if they are contaminated, and as such their confidence in dental treatment is directly proportional to the image and actions of their clinician.[7] By
observing the maintenance of consistent hand hygiene, patients are not only safer, but they may be more relaxed throughout their treatment journey as a result.
A kinder solution
Preventing the spread of infection and cross contamination within your practice is made simple with smart and effective hand hygiene stations. Initial Medical provides healthcare services with anti-bacterial soap and alcohol-free hand sanitiser solutions, that each kill 99.99% of bacteria. These ranges are designed to be powerful in germ killing yet also kind to the skin, and are excellent for use in clinical environments. Both solutions can be implemented with a No Touch Dispenser to help minimise contamination risks.
The best infection control measures allow clinicians to confidently provide safer care whilst being prepared for a CQC inspection at the drop of a hat. Keeping up with these pivotal procedures can also help patient perceptions of your practice – washing your hands could be part of the key to winning their trust.
To find out more, get in touch at 0808 304 7411 or visit the website today www.initial.co.uk/medical.
About Initial Medical
Initial Medical set the standard in healthcare and infectious waste management in the UK, providing a reliable, effective and fully compliant service built around customer needs and delivered by our highly trained local teams. We are ISO 9001:2015 accredited, with technology fully integrated into our operations, providing full traceability of service delivery, electronic waste documentation and the best customer experience possible. We also offer innovative healthcare waste management services and infection control products, to help break the chain of transmission and prevent cross contamination.
Initial Medical are a company with a ‘World Class’ Health and Safety record, and ISO 45001:2018 accreditation. We are also accredited to ISO 14001:2015 environmental standards, and pride ourselves on our sustainable approach with a focus on delivering eco-friendly products and operational solutions.
Rebecca Waters, Category Manager, Initial Medical
Rebecca has worked in the Healthcare sector for the past 17years and was a Research Chemist with Bayer Cropscience prior to joining Rentokil Initial in 2003. She keeps up to date on all developments within the clinical waste management industry and is an active member of the CIWM, SMDSA and BDIA.
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[1] CQC, (2022) Safeguarding and protection from abuse (healthcare services). (Online) Available at: https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/healthcare/safeguarding-protection-abuse-healthcare-services [Accessed September 2023]
[2] Bromberg, N., & Brizuela, M. (2023). Preventing Cross-Infection in the Dental Office. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
[3] Department of Health, (2013). HTM 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices. 2013 Version.
[4] Care Quality Commission, (2023). Dental mythbuster 9: Hand Hygiene. (Online) Available at: https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/dentists/dental-mythbuster-9-hand-hygiene [Accessed September 2023]
[5] CQC, (2022) What should you expect from your dental practice? (Online) Available at: https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/what-expect-good-care-service/what-should-you-expect-your-dental-practice [Accessed September 2023]
[6] Denplan, (2022). Consumer Oral Health Survey Results 2022. (Online) Available at: https://www.denplan.co.uk/content/dam/simplyhealth/documents/consumer-oral-health-survey-denplan-2022.pdf [Accessed September 2023]
[7] Upendran, A., Gupta, R., Geiger, Z., (2023). Dental Infection Control. (Online) Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470356/ [Accessed September 2023]
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