COVID-19: Update: CQC clarifies its advice to dentists in private practice
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- Published: Wednesday, 27 May 2020 07:28
- Written by News Editor
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The Care Quality Commission has restated its current position on providing non-NHS dental care services. ‘The decision to offer dental care services is one for the provider to take,’ they say. And continue by confirming that the CQC cannot require providers of dental care services to close, if ‘providers are providing an appropriate level of safety within the context of our regulations’.
Current position on dental care services regarding COVID-19 updates
Following on from previous coronavirus (COVID-19) updates, sent to all dental providers, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has written to confirm the current position[i].
‘The decision to offer dental care services is one for the provider to take. Alongside guidance given by Public Heath England (PHE) and the General Dental Council (GDC), CQC encourage dental providers to give proper consideration to the communications from the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) regardless of whether their practice is NHS, private, or mixed.
‘CQC cannot require providers of dental care services to close, unless we find clear evidence of a breach of our regulations that requires consideration of the use of our powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.
‘As part of our regulatory function we will assess the extent to which providers are providing an appropriate level of safety within the context of our regulations. In doing so we will refer to prevailing guidance, not limited to but including guidance from PHE, the CDO and GDC to help us reach a judgement on the extent to which the service currently being provided complies with our Regulations.’
Chief Dental Officer (England)
The Chief Dental Officer’s guidance[ii] dated March 25, regarding the suspension of NHS services in General Dental Practices and Community Dental Services remains unchanged.
General Dental Council
For the latest update on GDC’s guidance to registrants go to:
https://www.gdc-uk.org/information-standards-guidance/covid-19/covid-19-guidance-from-the-gdc
[i] https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/dentists/current-position-dental-care-services-regarding-covid-19-updates
[ii] https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/issue-3-preparedness-letter-for-primary-dental-care-25-march-2020.pdf
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