Behind the scenes of an FPA assessment day

Published: 28/11/2024

Our Welsh wonder Tara Fisher, one of our Business Development Consultants, put forward one of her practices for a Facilitated Practice Assessment (FPA) in 2024 and recently took the opportunity to join our Denplan Practice Advisor, Dr Andrew Meek-Welsh, on the assessment day, to gain a better understanding as to what they are all about and how they can support our member dentists.

She very kindly agreed to a Q&A with Natasha Oxley, our Clinical Risk Coordinator after the visit to share her experience. 

Why did you put the client forward to have an FPA?

They recently bought the practice and it is their first time being a goodwill owner. They felt there were clinical and compliance issues with the practice and patient list, and were aware of this ahead of the sale but wanted to take ownership to put things right.

They are a husband and wife team and new members to Denplan and I wanted to show them some of the range of support that is available under their membership.

I thought it would help them see what more would be needed before considering going for Excel in the future.

What was your understanding before going into the visit?

I was given an overview by Clinical Services beforehand as to what the visit was. I also spoke with Andy and agreed to meet him before the assessment started, to get an understanding of his style, how he approaches a visit and what he’s looking for.

Andy explained he had previously spoken with me and Clinical Services, so had an idea as to what the member dentist was trying to achieve from the visit and what stage they were at. He had historically visited the practice , so was excited to see what changes had been made.

How did the visit itself go?

Following initial introductions, Andy asked for a tour of the practice as a good starting point. I’d been to the practice a number of times, so didn’t join them.

Andy then explained how the visit would run and the number and breakdown of the different sections. There are nine in total:

1. Facilities

2. Patient focus

3. Infection control and decontamination

4. Risk management patient safety

5. Practice management

6. Documentation and legislation

7. Radiology

8. Record keeping

9. CPD

At the start of each section he would give an overview and what would be looked at, which I thought was helpful.

He was able to tick off a number of items across various sections following the practice tour, so I could see that was a really good place to start and make them feel they were already making some progress. It also meant they weren’t having to get up and down constantly to check items off.

Every question Andy asked developed into more of a conversation, rather than a yes/no response. It would allow him to explain why something was in place and give more of a story behind it to show why it would be needed. He was so knowledgeable and I learnt a lot from the visit I wasn’t previously aware of.

Andy is an experienced practice owner and my client is a new goodwill owner, so I felt they picked up a lot from the peer to peer conversations.

It was good to have both the Principal and Practice Manager present as the Practice Manager had a better understanding of where the policies were and what was in them, so between them they always had the answer.

I felt I was able to help and support too, as I had my laptop with me and if Andy suggested something, I could look it up and get that for them. I also found it helpful as I’ve now got these suggestions for future reference.

Andy broke the visit down into the different assessment sections. At the end of each section Andy would give them a summary and score of how they did. He was also able to compare their score with the average and celebrate where they scored above average, and reinforce what was outstanding and if any actions were needed.

He gave them clear time frames as to when they would receive their full post assessment report and I offered to come back once they had it, to talk it through, and discuss progressing with the Excel programme.

None of the day felt rushed and we had time to have some really useful, in depth conversations, which I know is what my clients really wanted. They were looking for peer support rather than a tick box exercise of what was missing. 

What did you get out of the day? 

How did attending an FPA align with your Personal Development Plan?

I have a clinical background and have worked in practice compliance so was really keen to understand the support the Denplan Quality Programme can provide and seeing how that whole process runs for the dentist.

It will help me in what to look out for when I am in practices, as I may be able to spot things and then flag what they need to do to put things in place.

I also feel it will help me in identifying future practices who can really benefit from being put forward for the process.

As well as that, I’m still a GDC registrant myself so by attending the visit I’ve also been able to get professional, verifiable CPD, which is an extra bonus and it helps to keep up to date with the regulations.

What do you think of the support an FPA provides to Denplan Members?

It shows them more about the Denplan brand and what we stand for. We are not just any provider and it’s not just about profit but we help them with clinical support too. It also gives them that opportunity of peer support, as clients can really value hearing it from a dentist. That’s quite rare and not something that’s available elsewhere. It can go a long way in how they feel cared for and supported and that it’s not just about patient numbers but we want to help them grow professionally, as well as maintain compliance standards.

How do you feel an FPA is different from a regulatory inspection?

With an FPA, more emphasis is on the discussion around the item, why it’s needed and how the practice can implement it. Regulators tend to want to just check that a specific item is in place and move on to the next point. So it’s more in depth with the physical evidence.

Andy did explain this is something he includes more with an Excel visit, as a requirement of their certification, but on this occasion the emphasis was more on support, identifying what wasn’t in place but showing them how they can address this.

The inspection approach across the regulators can differ quite a bit too. In my experience, the CQC tends to be a little stricter and more intense than an Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) visit. That said, HIW also have their educational arm Health Education and Improvement Wales, which I feel provides a great support offering.

Have you had any feedback yet from the practice regarding the visit?

I followed up with them and sent a supportive text that evening and got a response thanking us for all of our support and that they were happy with how the visit went.

When I spoke with her, she said how great she found Andy and was pleased that I attended too. I’ve got a historic relationship with these clients, so I think they appreciated having a familiar face there.

What would you say to any fellow Business Development Consultants, Business Development Executives or Business Development Managers that are considering whether to attend a visit in the future?

Go for it! You’ve got to go and see what it’s all about.

Once you’ve been on one, you’d be able to explain it better to other clients in the future, including how it will help them and help their practice.

I think it really helps to strengthen relationships, not just with the clients but also by attending a visit, I’ve built that relationship with the Practice Advisor.

It’s also helped my understanding seeing the full process, so if the Denplan Quality Programme ask me to follow up on something in the future, I can see how that part fits in to the overall process. 

A huge thank you for Tara’s time and feedback in talking to us and so pleased to hear she managed to get so much out of attending the visit.  

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