Dental Tribune Untited Kingdom Edition

April 16-22, 2012United Kingdom EditionFeature24 Enrol today! Call for details Limited places available! TR213860 13860_BDJ_Nobel 8/2/12 13:10 Page 1 F or many dental profes- sionals, the enjoyment of working in a prac- tice comes from the teamwork involved in ensuring patient satisfaction. But team working can bring its own challenges, particularly if a colleague’s behaviour gives cause for con- cern. A large, successful dental practice recruited two new staff members to help cope with an increasing patient register. The practice had an excellent reputation for providing a high standard of care and didn’t want to this be affected by the in- creasing demand for its servic- es so it engaged a new dentist and nurse to work alongside one another. Within the first month the dentist and nurse had formed an excellent working relationship, but soon after, the dentist had to take an extended period of leave due to illness and the nurse was allocated to work with a new dentist who was brought in to cover. They also quickly estab- lished a good working relation- ship, but after a few weeks, the nurse began to notice the den- tist was starting to speak rather abruptly to patients and had on one occasion, lost his temper with a patient who was needle phobic but required a local an- aesthetic to undergo a proce- dure. When the nurse attempted to speak to the dentist about the incident she was given short- shrift and told to mind her own business. The dentist’s behaviour con- tinued to be of concern until one day the receptionist witnessed him pouring alcohol into his tea in the kitchen. When ques- tioned, the dentist’s response was “everyone’s allowed a drink once in a while”. The dentist worked at the practice for a total of seven months and during this time, a number of colleagues had witnessed inappropriate be- haviour. Although the staff had discussed their concerns infor- mally among themselves, these weren’t taken any further. On one occasion, another dentist at the practice pulled his colleague aside and attempted to discuss his behaviour. The dentist put his temper down to stress. Con- cerns about his behaviour were subsequently taken to the prac- tice manager, who in line with the practice’s sickness policy offered the dentist a course of Cause for concern Mark Phillips discusses when, how, and to whom dental professionals should raise concerns ‘Although the staff had discussed their concerns informally among themselves, these weren’t taken any further’Is a colleague’s behaviour causing you concern?