FAQ: Safeguarding For Dental Practices

02 February, 2021

This blog will help you understand your safeguarding obligations and identify suitable training, such as our Level 3 safeguarding courses for healthcare professionals.

What is safeguarding and why does our dental practice need safeguarding training?

NHS England defines safeguarding as: “…protecting a citizen’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. It is an integral part of providing high-quality health care.” Safeguarding training enables your team to spot opportunities to save vulnerable people from harm. Examples of abuse for children and/or adults include:

Physical abuse including domestic violence
Fabricated or induced illness
Emotional abuse
Sexual abuse
Financial abuse
Neglect
Modern slavery
Extremism
Forced marriage

With the proper training, your team will have the skills and knowledge needed to make the right call. In the worst-case scenario, failure to do so could result in long-lasting damage or even death.

Who has safeguarding responsibilities at a dental practice and what should they look for?

Health, education and social care professionals all have safeguarding responsibilities. This means that they should raise an alert if they have strong suspicions or proof of abuse. The Public Health Executive is very clear about the role of dental practices in safeguarding. Its ‘Safeguarding in general dental practice’ toolkit says that ‘the dental team has a statutory duty of care to all patients which includes ensuring that safeguarding arrangements are in place.’ Dental teams are particularly well placed to spot and record any of the following:

Injuries to the head, face, mouth, teeth, eyes, ears and neck
Risks to health from poor oral hygiene and dental neglect

Training will help your dentists understand how to document the care provided and any concerns and discussions about the patient. Such records can be of vital importance if a case is later investigated by the Police and goes to court. Tina, our MD, comments, “There are some hard-hitting examples of what can happen when abuse isn’t reported. The PHE toolkit includes a case study about a victim of domestic abuse who confided in her dentist. Unfortunately, the dentist failed to alert authorities. The patient’s five-week-old baby was later fatally attacked by the perpetrator… Stories like these help you realise how important it is to have training that helps you do the best you can to prevent poor or tragic outcomes.”

Does safeguarding training help with dental practice compliance?

Absolutely. Safeguarding training helps your practice stay on the right side of the CQC. During an inspection, they’ll look for proof of compliance with Regulation 13: ‘Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment’. According to the CQC, “Providers must have robust procedures and processes to prevent people using the service from being abused by staff or other people they may have contact with when using the service, including visitors… CQC can prosecute for a breach of some parts of this regulation…if a failure to meet those parts results in avoidable harm to a person using the service or if a person using the service is exposed to a significant risk of harm. We do not have to serve a Warning Notice before prosecution. Additionally, CQC may also take any other regulatory action. CQC must refuse registration if providers cannot satisfy us that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.” In addition, the GDC’s ‘Standards for the Dental Team’ identifies nine principles registered dentists must keep to at all times. Principle Eight covers raising concerns if patients are at risk.

Find out more

View our safeguarding courses, including our Level 3 courses for healthcare professionals. You may also find our blog on questions to ask about your practice’s safeguarding useful.