DTUK0813

April 1-7, 201324 Practice Management United Kingdom Edition The Academy A4 Advert FINAL.indd 1 21/09/2012 10:53 Y esterday we had our visit from the Care Quality Commission. We received a telephone call on Friday informing that the visit would take place the fol- lowing Tuesday. I don’t work on Fridays so we really only had a day to ensure everything was in place. As we all know there is an element of anguish when you know you are about to be in- spected, however on the other hand I believe that the stand- ards that are set by the profes- sion should be in place and if they are nobody has anything to worry about. Human behaviour On the Monday the younger staff were agitated wondering if they would be asked any ques- tions, this is just normal human behaviour. I suppose in a sense I was wishing it was over but I wasn’t concerned about the evi- dence that we may have been asked for. Two ladies arrived, one be- ing the lead, the other mak- ing notes, they were both very pleasant, and made you feel at ease. We did have a staff meet- ing beforehand and it was de- cided just to be ourselves, if we don’t pass we only have our- selves to blame. Everybody in the profession is aware of the legislation surround dentists and if there is a problem these inspectors should find it. This is where I feel it for the single-handed practition- er, trying to achieve targets whilst ensuring all the ad- min side is up to date plus all the other evidence that is re- quired; it’s a task for a manager let alone a dentist aiming to be everything. The visit started with an in- terview with me, the registered manager, followed by inter- viewing four patients with their record cards. Although they make it clear their intention is not meant to disrupt our day I will say that they do need an empty surgery or meeting room where they can be left will all the various files of legislation that we have. My own office is so small we couldn’t have accommodated them in there. Following this, they asked to speak with the principal and three members of staff one be- ing an apprentice nurse. The cross infection nurse was inter- viewed and was asked to show protocols of cross infection pro- cedure. A short guided tour of the practice was also requested. Following this I left them to look at dental records plus all our paperwork. The whole process took around three hours. Finally we received feedback although we were told that if anything was wrong they are not allowed to inform you how to put it right. We were assessed on five outcomes in total. The questions we were asked were various, they did seem to concentrate on the employment files, so if you haven’t a procedure in place now is the time to implement. In my employment folder I have template evidence of: • Application forms for employ- ment • Acceptance/rejection letters • Interview questions • Interview assessment forms • Letter of request for refer- ences • Letters for Occupational Health • CRB applications • Evidence that employees can legally work in the UK • Copies of Contracts • Job descriptions • Induction programme • Hep B evidence • GDC and Medical Protection • Certificates • Training agreement I then have a folder which shows evidence of all the above for every member has been col- lected. Apart from the employment checks they were also inter- ested in audits, especially HTM 015, Practice leaflet to which they took, I was asked how I translate the wording, and I was to produce accident forms and equipment service validity. Disability access, emergency procedures, cleanliness of the practice and condition of chairs etc, were also mentioned. I was also asked what was the procedure for mentoring long term existing staff in addi- tion to apprentices. This is just a rough idea of what to expect. I found the experience fine; they were friendly made me feel at ease, it wasn’t a problem and certainly not worth being stressed about. If you know you have every- thing in place you have nothing to worry about. My next article may read different, as I await the formal report which will appear on the CQC Website. DT CQC Visit - a practice manager’s perspective Jane Armitage details when the CQC came visiting... About the author Jane Armitage is an award-winning practice manager and has almost 40 years indus- try experience. She is currently a practice manager for Thompson & Thomas, and holds a Vocational Assessors award. She is also a BDA Good Practice Assessor, BDA Good Practice Regional Consult- ant, and has a BDA Certificate of Merit for services to the profession. She has her own company, JA Team Train- ing, offering a practice management consultancy service, which includes on-site assistance covering all aspects of practice management with a path- way if required for managers to take their qualification in dental practice management. If you’ve any memo- ries of the early 1970s or any specific choices of topics you’d like addressed, call Jane on 01142 343346 or email ja- nearm@tiscali.co.uk. ‘Although they make it clear their intention is not meant to disrupt our day I will say that they do need an empty surgery or meeting room where they can be left will all the vari- ous files of legisla- tion that we have’