Denplan’s Excel programme, an advanced quality assurance programme, developed for dentists to help support clinical governance, professional regulation and excellence in patient care and communication has been formally assessed and accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). UKAS accreditation of the Excel programme is ground-breaking because it is the first dental service world-wide to achieve such recognition.
UKAS are the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess organisations that provide certification, testing and inspection services against internationally agreed standards. UKAS accredit over 3,000 organisations worldwide throughout industry, business and commerce for this purpose. Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates an organisation’s competence, impartiality, capability and helps underpin the credibility of performance, goods and services. The accreditation of Denplan’s Excel programme will ensure that patients continue to receive high standards and quality of care in dentistry, which is supportive of current NHS and overall government healthcare objectives.
Henry Clover, Deputy Chief Dental Officer at Denplan, responsible for leading Denplan through the accreditation process commented: “We are thrilled that fifteen years after the launch of the Excel programme, heralding the arrival of a unique quality assurance programme in UK dentistry, it has now been granted UKAS accreditation. This is the culmination of an enormous amount of work to demonstrate that all aspects of the Excel programme conform to the ISO 17065 standard for bodies certifying products, processes and services.
“UKAS accreditation of the Denplan Excel programme is recognition that Denplan has the necessary competence, combined with robust procedures and operations in place to assess the wide range of clinical, governance, legal and regulatory tasks that dental practices have to perform. This will continue to ensure that high standards in patient care and communication are met by Denplan’s Excel dentists.
“We believe that this accolade will also place all Excel dentists in a favourable position, as the GDC (General Dental Council) moves towards introducing a revalidation scheme (now known as ‘continuing assurance’) and regulators like the CQC also recognising the potential value of clinical service accreditation and peer review schemes as information sources to support its inspections*.”
Paul Stennett, Chief Executive of UKAS commented: “Congratulations to everyone at Denplan on becoming the world’s first dental service to achieve UKAS accreditation. Confidence in the quality of a number of diverse health and social care services is already underpinned by UKAS accreditation, from imaging services and medical laboratories, to physiological services and care home inspections. Accreditation of the Denplan Excel programme represents a natural extension of that confidence into the dental care sector, providing assurance to commissioners, providers and patients alike.”
Accreditation will be monitored through annual surveillance visits, with a full re-assessment every four years. Denplan Excel dentists will now be allowed to use the UKAS symbol alongside the Excel logo and Denplan will be supplying practices with a new Excel plaque free of charge.
Excel dentists also gain free access to Denplan’s market-leading patient communication and assessment tool, DEPPA. This is an evidence-based assessment which allows dentists to produce a colour coded report to present to patients which can help aid understanding and communication regarding their oral health and future risk of dental caries, periodontal disease, tooth wear and oral cancer. Further information about Denplan Excel and DEPPA can be found at www.denplan.co.uk/excel.
*Source: http://www.ukas.com/news/cqc-
About Denplan
Denplan Limited is the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist owned by Simplyhealth; with more than 6,500 member dentists nationwide caring for approximately 1.7 million Denplan registered patients. Established in 1986 by two dentists who pioneered the concept of dental payment plans, Denplan has been at the heart of dental care for nearly 30 years. Today, Denplan has a wide range of dental plans for adults and children, enabling patients to spread the cost of their private dental care through a fixed monthly fee. Denplan supports regular attendance and preventive care, reducing the need for clinical intervention and helping patients to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life. Patient enquiries telephone: 0800 401 402 Dentist enquiries telephone: 0800 328 3223
- Denplan Care: all routine and restorative care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
- Denplan Essentials: routine care only + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
- Plans for Children: routine and other agreed care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
- Membership Plan: registered with the dentist + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
- Denplan Emergency: worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover only
- Corporate Dental Plans: company funded, voluntary and flexible benefit schemes
Denplan also provides a range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme, Denplan Excel Certification Programme and Denplan Training. Plus regulatory advice, business and marketing consultancy services and networking opportunities.
For more information about Denplan:
Rebecca Hutton
Denplan Press Office
Tel: 01962 829 179
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About Simplyhealth
We have been helping people with their health for over 140 years. Our roots are in the hospital funds set up during the Victorian era to help working people save for their medical care, and we still follow mutual values today. With no shareholders, our profits go back into supporting our customers and healthcare charitable causes, donating over £1 million each year. Last year, we donated £1.4 million.
In 2011, we acquired Denplan Limited, the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist. Simplyhealth has 1,391 employees based across our offices in Andover, Manchester, Leeds and Denplan in Winchester. We serve our 3.5 million customers through cash plans, dental plans, Denplan and pet health plans. Simplyhealth has Independent Living Centres which provide daily living and mobility products, including powerchairs, mobility scooters and wheelchairs, in Andover, Bristol, Burnham, Droitwich, Kenilworth, Leeds, Northfield, Norwich, Sutton Coldfield, Telford, Willenhall and Wolverhampton.
Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
For further information:
http://newsroom.simplyhealth.
Caroline Newton, Public Relations and Social Media Manager 0344 579 2274
Laura Miller, Media Relations Officer 0344 579 2266
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Follow us on Twitter @SimplyhealthUK and at Facebook.com/SimplyhealthUK
About UKAS
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the National Accreditation Body (NAB) for the UK. Its role is to assess evaluating organisations to international standards. UKAS operates under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). UKAS accreditation involves assessment of certification, inspection, testing and calibration services. For further information about UKAS visit: www.ukas.com.
All media enquiries should be directed to Phil Russell in the UKAS press office: E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. T: 020 7689 5155