Changes to the Care Quality Commission regulations

The new Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulations came into effect in April 2015, under the The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These changes followed consultation with all the affected parties on how the Care Quality Commission should operate, based on experiences so far (Box 1). However, while dentistry is a player in this, it is a relatively small one when compared to hospitals and care homes; the rules are really written for these—dentistry is shoe-horned in and made to make the regulations fit.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC)—the independent regulator of health and social care services in England—required that all dental practices in England had to be registered by April 2011. Dentists were asked to make a declaration that they complied with the new legislation. There then followed three years of inspections, with the CQC checking up on practices. There are approximately 8100 dental providers—sole traders, partnerships or limited companies—spread over around 10 100 locations and the CQC undertook 10 900 inspections during that three year period.