Creating a culture of compliance within your dental team
9 August 2024
By Lianne Scott-Munden, Clinical Quality and Complaints Risk Manager at Denplan
Before I came to work for Denplan to guide the clinical services team and share my compliance and clinical knowledge, I spent almost 20 years as a dental nurse and practice manager. I can still clearly see myself in my practice, sat in my stuffy, windowless office, surrounded by file upon file of policies and procedures, logbooks, and risk assessments that needed to be completed. My ever-growing to-do list weighed on me, and I remember wondering if the compliance treadmill would ever ease.
At some point, you have probably experienced this feeling too. Finishing up an extremely busy day in clinic only to be met with questions from the team: “When you have a moment can you…” “I know you’re about to leave but can you just…”.
This is why it’s essential to create a culture of compliance within dental teams, where the responsibility for it rests upon everyone’s shoulders. Not only does this maintain patient safety and uphold ethical standards, but it’s also essential for your mental well-being.
But how do you create such a culture? Let’s explore…
Leadership plays a critical role in shaping any culture, with leaders establishing their expectations by actions and words. When a leader prioritises compliance, the team will follow. Leading by example will demonstrate adherence to the processes and regulations, and staff members will observe this behaviour and emulate their leader. As with all cultures, communication is key. As a leader you will be looked to, to provide clear guidance and support on what the compliance requirements are, explain policies in detail, listen to and address your team’s concerns. Whilst daunting, leaders will hold their team accountable for compliance, and this consistent approach will reinforce the importance of following the practice procedures.
Alongside a consistent approach to compliance comes education and training. Leaders can facilitate training sessions and provide ongoing education. Not only will this assist in the adoption of a compliance culture, but it will showcase investment in the team’s development, and increase their awareness and understanding of compliance.
I have addressed why leadership is so crucial to the cause, but what about the team members? They may be unsure about the regulations, policies and ethical guidelines that are encased in that dreaded word ‘compliance’. Here is where staff education and training shine. Regular formal, and indeed informal, training and workshops, both in house and online, on aspects such as infection control, record keeping, risk assessment, audits, and other critical areas, will provide a foundation for them to feel more knowledgeable and comfortable completing the tasks asked of them.
It can be helpful to embed compliance tasks into our team’s daily routine. A good example of this would be a COSHH assessment that requires reviewing. Your team may very well be using that material during their day, so ask them to check the assessment is current and correct. This not only heightens awareness of compliance but also serves as training on document importance.
Using checklists can also be helpful to ensure there’s a consistent approach to practice protocols. Could they perhaps carry out a daily audit in the surgery, so that results can be collated with ease at the 6-month point? Not only will this highlight errors, but it can also help to rectify them quickly and efficiently.
You can address misconceptions by sharing myth busting articles and communicate openly about the compliance expectations and consequences. Asking your team members to complete compliance tasks must come with the reassurance that they can report potential issues that they may have come across without fear of reprisal.
And most importantly, celebrate successes in their achievements in maintaining the practice compliance.
When creating a culture of compliance, you will need to communicate to your team the reasoning behind the change, always embracing transparency. You aren’t just doing it to make your life easier; you see it as collaboration at its finest, bringing the team together and sharing the sense of achievement. Share your vision of the compelling benefits to the patients, practice, and team, whilst ensuring that you listen to the feedback supplied to you. Actively engaging the team in the change of process by seeking their input will make them feel valued and create a real sense of ownership for the individuals.
For me, the thought of handing over the compliance reins to my team was extremely daunting. I had spent a lot of time ensuring that all the policies and procedures were in place and reviewed as appropriate. All the risk assessments and audits were complete with clear action plans, all t’s crossed, and i’s dotted. I would go as far as to say the fear of not being in control was very real. However, I had carried out training sessions with my team, explained my expectations (and those of the regulators), identified the team’s strength areas as well as considering what areas they found of interest, and began delegation. Of course, for the first six months I kept a close eye on the different areas I had tasked them with, but I needn’t have worried. If ever there were concerns or questions, they always approached me for guidance and clarification of the next steps.
I saw my team begin to converse more around the practice compliance, sharing “did you know…” and asking for one another’s input or suggestions before approaching me. Implementing a culture of compliance gave them a sense of empowerment over other areas, not just in surgery or reception, allowing them to be subject matter experts in their allocated field of compliance and educate other members of the team.
My compliance treadmill had ceased.