CQC come calling

January 2020 saw the birth of Cheltenham & Cotswold Dental and it seems we have been in a 110m hurdles race ever since. First the pandemic and then the current global situation. Nevertheless, everything we have done from the very beginning has been geared towards creating a welcoming, friendly environment for all, and giving all of our patients exceptional clinical care. 

With any new service it is only a matter of time before the ‘regulators’ come calling to ensure we are meeting standards and this happened to us a few weeks ago…the next hurdle…

I am sure it is most owners’ nightmare to have every aspect of the business scrutinised, from audits, training and infection control to service delivery, leadership, safeguarding and so much more. Naturally, these regulatory processes are to protect the public and play such an important role in maintaining widespread standards. 

For us, it was an opportunity to work with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and demonstrate how each individual member of our team, from reception to nursing, treatment coordinators to clinicians, to managers and directors, play an invaluable role in the culture and ethos of the practice. We were genuinely excited but left Karen & Laura to manage proceedings. 

The day passed and we waited for the report to come through…

The report highlighted that we were:

1. SAFE
2. EFFECTIVE
3. CARING
4. RESPONSIVE
5. WELL-LED

Relief and pride all mixed into one and a great feather in the cap of ALL the team members who put our patients first on a day to day basis. We are very proud of all of them, and looking forward to some exciting developments over the next few months. 

Having said that, what will be the next hurdle? Or is it more of a steeplechase?