Compared with other sectors regulated by the CQC, dental services present a lower risk to patient safety and each year only 10% of practices are selected for a comprehensive inspection. You will usually receive two weeks’ notice to minimise disruption to patient care. How CQC monitors, inspects and regulates primary care dental services provides more information about the types of inspection, the visit and the inspection report.
The inspectors use an assessment framework that relates directly to the five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? Each question has several subsections, each with a series of prompts to help you demonstrate how your practice meets the requirement. The inspection framework is described fully in the CQC’s publication Key lines of enquiry for healthcare services.
Learning objectives
This advice takes you through the CQC’s compliance requirements and what you will need to demonstrate when you are inspected. It follows the same structure as the key lines of enquiry and explains:
- What the CQC rates as outstanding or good examples of compliance
- What you should do to comply with each of the five key questions
- What information you might use to demonstrate compliance
- How key questions can require the same evidence, simplifying how you demonstrate compliance with different aspects of the assessment framework.