What standards are expected of you for putting patients interests first?
- Listen to your patients
- Treat every patient with dignity and respect at all times
- Be honest and act with integrity
- Take a holistic and preventative approach to patient care which is appropriate to the individual patient
- Treat patients in a hygienic and safe environment
- Treat patients fairly, as individuals and without discrimination
- Put patients interests before your own or those of any colleague, business or organisation
- Have appropriate arrangements in place for patients to seek compensation if they suffer harm
- Find out about laws and regulations that affect your work and follow them
What can be found in the nhs standards paper?
- core ethical principles
- what patients can expect
- what you must do to meet patient expectations
- guidance-how to meet the standards
What are the standards expected of you to communicate effectively with patients?
- Communicate effectively with patients-listen to them, give them time to consider information and take their individual views and communication needs into account
- Recognise and promote patients rights to and responsibilities for making decisions about their health priorities and care
- Give patients the information they need, in a way they can understand, so that they can make informed decisions
- Give patients clear info on costs before starting treatment
What is informed consent?
So that competent patient can understand (gain capacity) procedure so they can give informed consent.
You must:
1. Explain procedure so that competent adult will understand.
2. Assess the risks and benefits to treatment ‘but not limited to’
3. Consider consequences of no treatment and discuss alternatives
Your moral duties are:
1. Don’t act against patients will
2. No coercion, undue influence, intimidation
Patients ability to make choices are based on:
1. Their own values
2. Preferences
3. Experience and knowledge
What are the standards for obtaining valid consent?
- Obtain valid consent before starting treatment, explaining all the relevant options and the possible costs
- Make sure that patients (or their representatives) understand the decisions they are being asked to make
- Make sure that the patient’s consent remains valid at each stage of investigation or treatment
What are the standards expected of you to maintain and protect patient information?
- Make and keep complete and accurate patient records
- Protect the confidentiality of patients information and only use it for the purpose for which it was given
- Only release a patients information without their permission on exceptional circumstances
- Ensure that patients can have access to their records
- Keep patients information secure at all times, whether your records are held on paper or electronically
What are the standards for complaints procedures?
- Make sure that there is an effective complaints procedure readily available for patients to use and follow that procedure at all times
- Respect a patients right to complain
- Give patients who complain a prompt and constructive response
What is the BDH complaints procedure?
- See if you can sort it out
- Speak to your supervisor
- Speak to the school/ hospital manager
What are the standards for teamwork in the best interest of the patient?
- Work effectively with your colleagues and contribute to good teamwork
- Be appropriately supported when treating patients
- Delegate and refer appropriately and effectively
- Only accept a referral or delegation if you are trained and competent to carry out the treatment and you believe that what you are being asked to do is appropriate for the patient
- Communicate clearly and effectively with other team members and colleagues in the interests of patients
- Demonstrate effective management and leadership skills if you manage a team
What are the standards for knowing your own limitations?
- Provide good quality care based on current evidence and authoritative guidance
- Work within your knowledge, skills, professional competence and abilities
- Update and develop your professional knowledge and skills throughout your working life
What are the standards on raising concerns?
- Always put patients safety first
- Act promptly if patients it colleagues are at risk and take measures to protect them
- Make sure If you employ, manage it lead a team that you encourage and support a culture where staff can raise concerns openly and without fear of reprisal and that there’s an effective procedure in place for raising concerns, that the procedure is readily available to all staff and that it’s followed at all times
- Take appropriate action if you have any concerns about the possible abuse of children or vulnerable adults
What are the standards for maintaining the confidence of patients?
- Ensure that your conduct both at work and in your personal life justifies patients trust in you and the publics trust in the dental profession
- Protect patients and colleagues from risks posed by your health, conduct or performance
- Inform the GDC if you are subject to criminal proceedings or a a regulatory finding is made against you anywhere in the world
- Cooperate with any relevant formal or informal inquiry and give full and truthful information
