:: Clinical Governance

Clinical Governance

OUR PRACTICE POLICY ON CLINICAL GOVERNANCE

Our practice aims to provide dental care of a consistent quality, for all patients. We have management systems to help us and which define each practice member’s responsibilities when looking after you.
In proposing treatment we will take account of your own wishes. We will explain options, where appropriate, and costs, so that you can make an informed choice. We will always explain what we are doing.
We will do all we can to look after your general health. We will ask you about your general health, and about any medicines being taken. This helps us to treat you safely. We keep all information about you confidential.
Contamination control is also essential to the safety of our patients. Every practice member receives training in practice systems for contamination control.
We screen all patients for mouth cancer at routine checkups. We ask patients about tobacco and alcohol use because they increase your oral cancer risk.
Practice working methods are reviewed regularly at meetings of all staff. We encourage all staff to make suggestions for improving the care we give patients. All equipment and systems are assessed annually and a risk assessment is carried out.
We regularly ask patients for their views on our services. We have systems for dealing promptly with patient complaints and for ensuring that lessons are learnt from any mistakes that we make. Our practice complaints protocols explains this.
All dentists in the practice take part in continuing professional education. We aim to keep up-to-date with current thinking on all aspects of general dentistry, including preventive care, which reduces your need for treatment.
All staff joining the practice are given an in-house training for all procedures. Once a year, there is an individual review of training needs for everyone in the practice.
All members of the practice know of the need to ensure that dentists are working safely. In the unlikely event that a dentist in this practice becomes unfit to practice, we have systems to ensure that concerns are investigated and, if necessary, acted upon.

PROTOCOL FOR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Record patient details – name, address, telephone number.
Details of persons other than patient making the complaint.
Date and time of complaint of event.
Details of person or body complaining about.
Details of complaint.
Revolve problem as best as possible – carried out by receptionist, DSA, dentist other than principal.
If problem cannot be resolved by the above persons, inform practice principal who will try to revolve problem.
If the complaint cannot be dealt with within the practice, or with a mediator the patient will complete a complaint form and sent to Dental council of India.

All complaints are dealt with calmly, fairly and confidentially, preferably in a room where other patients are not present. eg: The surgery. The complaint is logged in a book for future reference and evidence that a complaint was made.