Ensuring quality is an important concern in dental health care

SpaDental invites you to share your experience of your treatment at our practices with the CQC.

Your feedback to the The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will help to inform quality of care in dental practices nationwide.

We agree that it’s important all health care providers meet the standards patients deserve and should expect. The CQC offers patients an opportunity to comment on the quality of care they receive from their dental practice. Feedback from patients is an important tool for determining and setting standards.

How can I share my experience of the quality of care provided by a health service with the CQC?

You may either:

• Fill in a comment card in the practice, then place it in the secure box provided by the CQC. (This is part of the pre-inspection planning process, so cards are not always available).

Or:

• You can share your feedback online at any time. You can link to the CQC page here.

What is the Care Quality Commission?

To ensure people receive high-quality care in a safe environment, the CQC inspects and monitors health services in England.

The CQC says: “We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find, including performance ratings, to help people choose care.”

It is reassuring for patients to know that the CQC:

• registers service providers;
• works with data and evidence from different sources;
• considers patient feedback;
• uses experts for assessments;
• publishes inspection reports for public access;
• takes appropriate action.

What does the CQC do to check a dental practice?

To check the quality of care, the CQC uses five key questions as a framework for further enquiry.

Are they:

1. safe?
2. effective?
3. caring?
4. responsive to people’s needs?
5. well-led?

As the CQC considers dentistry does not have as high a risk factor for patient well-being as some other services, they inspect 10% a year. Also, the four tier rating system (red, amber, green and a star) is not applied to dental practices. Instead, dental practices receive one of three comments for each of the key questions.

The summative comments indicate:

• There’s no action required.
• We’ve asked the service to make improvements.
• We’ve taken enforcement action.

Why does the CQC want to hear from me?

Before an inspection visit, the CQC gathers information from records an people who are either working in the service, or using it. A thorough assessment relies on feedback from the service users.  Of course, it’s particularly important to report treatment or service that is sub-standard to help protect others. Good reports help too as they provide information to determine standards.

How can the CQC help me?

• Before registering for a new healthcare service provider, check it’s registered with the CQC.
• Check your dental practice  report on the CQC website. For registered dental services you will find a record from the last CQC inspection outlining the performance of the practice. Practices also link to their CQC assessment on their own website.
• Standards for quality of care are articulated, monitored and inspected to keep you safe.
• If you have concerns about a healthcare service, your information shared through this link may help protect others.

Further reading:

• Kindness and respect for all dental patients.
• Friends and Family Form
• External link to the CQC.
• Follow up post with reviews of SpaDental Ledbury

Useful Links & Information