The Good Practice Scheme can benefit a practice in a number of ways:

• it is a practice management tool 
• it can improve communication
• it encourages team building
• it includes clinical governance
• quality assurance.

Practice management

Working through the requirements of the scheme encourages practices to check that all professional and legal requirements are in place, with the relevant policies and protocols to ensure compliance. The reference sheets and checklists help you identify what you have in place already and what still needs to be done. Monitoring progress through the self-assessment programme can help to keep everyone motivated and working towards a common goal - scheme membership.

Communication

Displaying the Good Practice Scheme plaque in your practice is an excellent way of communicating to your patients your commitment to recognised standards of good practice. This is a powerful message; displaying the Good Practice Scheme leaflets in the practice and using the logo on a website and practice stationery enhances this message.

Communication is an intrinsic part of Good Practice. The self-assessment encourages you to revisit how you communicate with your patients, helping you to avoid mis-understandings and potential conflict. It also requires regular team meetings to allow sharing of ideas and agreed methods of approach. Effective communication leads to a less stressful working environment for everyone.

For a list of member practices, please visit BDA Smile.

Team-building

Working through the Good Practice Scheme self-assessment programme is an exercise in teamwork. Appointing a team member to co-ordinate the process and share the responsibilities with all the team encourages people to work together constructively. Ideas can be shared and built upon to create a more efficient practice where everyone feels they have an important role. The team-building aspect of the scheme cannot be underestimated.

Clinical governance and quality assurance

The need for good clinical governance is ever-present and those practices with an NHS contract have certain obligations that must be met. Clinical governance is about quality assurance - knowing what is to be done, how it should be done and why. Good Practice and clinical governance are complementary - so meeting the requirements of the scheme helps you to comply with clinical governance requirements.

The benefit to patients

The Good Practice commitment summarises how the Good Practice Scheme will affect patients’ experiences at your practice.

• We aim to provide dental care of a consistently good quality for all patients
• We only provide care that meets your needs and wishes
• We aim to make your treatment as comfortable and convenient as possible
• We look after your general health and safety while receiving dental care
• We follow the current guidelines on infection control
• We check for mouth cancer and tell you what we find
• We take part in CPD to keep our skills and knowledge up-to-date
• We train all staff in practice-wide work systems and review training plans once a year

• We welcome feedback and deal promptly with any complaints. Every member of the practice is aware of the need to work safely under General Dental Council guidelines.

The benefits to the dental team

The benefits to the dental team are numerous and include:

• practice management tools to ensure compliance with professional and legal responsibilities
• quality assurance
• team-building
• accountability
• consistency
• informed decision-making
• confidence
• recognition of efforts

• improved standards.

Primary care organisations

Primary care organisations can also use Good Practice effectively to meet their responsibilities with dental providers.

• An established scheme using recognised standards of good practice
• Satisfies clinical governance requirements
• Provides a base-line for assessment and encourages self-assessment
• Promotes a working relationship between dentists and the PCO

• Recognition for good practice.

To order the self-assessment programme, please contact the Good Practice Administrator on 0207 563 4598.