All healthcare providers have a duty of care to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to minimise the risk of infection within the healthcare setting. After all, patients deserve to be treated in a safe, clean environment with consistent standards of care every time they visit.
To ensure these standards are met, the Department of Health has set out a number of Health Technical Memorandums (HTMs), which, along with international standards and UK government legislation, establish key benchmarks for standards of care across the healthcare sector. Of particular importance for the dental profession is HTM 01-05: decontamination in primary care dental practices. All dental professionals should be familiar with this document, which was first published in 2009, and was subsequently updated in March 2013.
Though controversial for some, HTM 01-05 has played a crucial role in setting out specific benchmarks in terms of ‘essential quality requirements’ and ‘best practice’. This has helped to ensure consistent decontamination protocols are adhered to across the profession, with the ultimate goal of reducing the risks associated with the spread of infection in the dental practice.
Patient safety is key
Under HTM 01-05 regulations, all dental practices should have an infection control policy in place that is readily available for official inspection. This document should be bespoke to each individual practice and should be updated regularly to ensure the latest changes in regulations are fully adhered to and addressed.
Beyond HTM 01-05, practice teams should also make sure that they’re familiar with the framework set out by other regulators such as the CQC, while paying particular attention to the edicts set out in The Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the Prevention and Control of Infections. The CQC’s 28 Essential Standards of Quality and Safety in particular reinforce the need to have a strong infection control protocol that covers all areas of the practice – not just the clinical environment. Waiting rooms, toilet facilities and reception areas are all key locations that have been found to be wanting in the past, and can easily be overlooked when time and resources are thinly spread.
Though there are clearly a great many different regulations and protocols to meet when it comes to infection control, it’s important to remember that these regulations don’t exist without good reason. Patients deserve and indeed expect to be treated in a clean and safe dental practice, consistent with appropriate infection control standards. The regulations aim to minimise risk and so maximise safety for patients and staff alike.
Though infection control regulations can often seem like an excessive burden in an already time pressured profession, safety should be the absolute number one priority of all healthcare providers, so that patients feel at ease coming into the practice environment and confident that the team is working with their best interests at heart.
Education
Patient education is one of the greatest challenges facing the healthcare professions today. Education doesn’t just include teaching patients about the consequences of their actions and the health risks of, for example, not brushing their teeth. It includes informing patients about the steps you take to protect their health and wellbeing during the time they spend in your care.
As a practising dental professional, you will already be familiar with the role of the Department of Health, the CQC and other bodies that regulate the provision of dental care. However, in most cases your patients won’t know about these bodies, nor will they be particularly concerned about the intricacies of HTM 01-05. Your role, then, is not so much to educate patients on the finer detail of infection control protocol, but to show them that these regulations exist, and that you adhere to them for the benefit of their safety and wellbeing.
In the media
There can be no escaping the fact that we now live in a 24-hour news culture, where stories can very quickly catch the public interest and gain momentum. This has been a particular concern in the field of healthcare, where some diseases have received unprecedented coverage leading to mass public hysteria, despite the lack of scientific evidence to support the alarm.
One particular threat that many members of the public will be aware of is the existence of ‘superbugs’ – antibiotic resistant organisms that have been the source of much public outcry surrounding hygiene standards in hospital wards. These stories are certainly more prevalent than they’ve ever been before, and the news is filled with accounts of deaths associated with various superbugs. This has led to a significant increase in public awareness of infection control within the healthcare environment, including hospitals, GP surgeries and dental practices.
Given the heightened public awareness surrounding infection control, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate to patients that you maintain excellent hygiene standards and that you adhere to all the regulations and protocols that apply. This will boost patients’ confidence in your practice, and by implication, confidence in the dental profession as a whole.
There are many different approaches you can take to achieve this aim. Posters, for example, are an excellent means of communicating with patients, and can be used in public spaces to display general health information as a demonstration of your commitment to hygiene and health. To support this approach you should also be aware of your responsibilities in surgery.
While hand-washing posters are an obligation to meet protocol, they’re also a way of clearly demonstrating your commitment to hygiene ‘in action’. Beyond posters you might also like to consider stocking practice information leaflets on the subject of infection control, or perhaps even producing some of your own.
Many practices these days run a regular newsletter for patients, and this can be another valuable platform for sharing news and updates. Just invested in a new washer-disinfector? Share this news with your patients so they can see a real example of how you continue to invest in your practice to maintain first class hygiene standards. This same information can also be used on your practice website, where you might like to have a page dedicated to showing the steps you take to manage infection control. You can also consider sharing information and updates in blog posts or in any letters and emails you send out to patients. By communicating your infection control standards effectively, patients will feel safer and more confident in your practice, especially in the winter months.
Refreshing your knowledge
To ensure that you’re fully up to date with the latest infection control protocols, it’s essential that you and your team undertake regular refresher training in this area. While training in ‘Disinfection and Decontamination’ is considered a highly recommended topic under the GDC’s revalidation requirements (minimum five hours), it’s also a useful way to help you reaffirm that your practice is working to the very latest infection control standards.
To help you in this task, many of the best training providers will be able to offer you bespoke guidance and support on all areas of infection control, ranging from the latest HTM 01-05 updates to effective strategies for communicating your infection control ‘best practice’ to patients. For example, infection control is a key area covered in Denplan’s CPD Essentials training event.
Maintaining standards
Although patients may not necessarily understand or appreciate the lengths that each practice will go to in order to maintain standards of infection control, it’s important nonetheless that you and your team demonstrate an ongoing commitment to maintaining excellent hygiene standards. This can be achieved through a number of means, not least by enhancing in practice communication methods, and engaging in regular infection control training from leading experts in the field.