Reference/Features

Infection prevention and control – the key to patient safety

9 mins read CQC requirements Decontamination/HTM 01-05 Risk management
Richard Griffith discusses the duties of dental care professionals (DCPs) to ensure patients benefit from proper infection prevention and control procedures, and highlights the sanctions that DCPs may face if they fail to discharge those duties

When hidden camera footage showed a dentist using the same gloves and instruments for more than one patient it resulted in 22,000 patients being offered screening for blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis, and highlighted the importance of infection prevention and control in dental care. Every healthcare profession is accountable to its statutory body and dental professionals are no exception. Dental care professionals (DCPs) have a legal obligation to ensure they discharge the duties imposed on them by law. This is particularly the case for preventing the spread of infection through proper infection prevention and control procedures. Where a DCP fails to meet required standards for infection prevention and control, they will be held accountable to a range of statutory bodies with legal authority over them (Savage and Moore 2004).

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Dental Nursing and reading some of our resources. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Up to 2 free articles per month

  • New content available

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here