Healthcare Inspectorate Wales

Both Tara and Catrin are registered with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW), who are the independent inspectorate and regulator of all healthcare in Wales.

HIW requires all private dentists practising in Wales to be registered with them. The legal requirements of the Private Dentistry Regulations 2008 and the Private Dentistry (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 must be met before and during their registration process. The HIW will only register a Dental Practice if they can and continue to meet the legal requirements and  National Minimum Standards. We have consistently achieved this.

HIW actually carry out on site inspections inspect health services across Wales to check whether or not standards are being met. Their inspections take place regularly and they are usually unannounced so we have to make sure we adhere to their standards at all times.

During their inspections they may ask patients about their experiences of care, they talk to staff, and check that the right systems and processes are in place. From these investigations, they can then judge whether the standards are being met or not and they publish reports of their findings on their website so you, as a patient, can view these at any time.

In between inspections, they continually monitor all the information they hold about us. The information comes from their inspections, our patients, our staff, and from other organisations who we may deal with.

What the HIW Inspectorate do:

They inspect NHS and independent healthcare organisations in Wales against a range of standards, policies, guidance and regulations

They focus on how well those who may be in vulnerable situations are safeguarded

They identify where services are doing well, and highlight areas where services need to be improved

They investigate where there may be systemic failures in delivering healthcare

They take immediate action if we determine that the safety and quality of healthcare does not meet required standards

They inform patients, service users and the public about the standards of healthcare in Wales

They drive improvement through shared learning

 For more info about the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales visit www.hiw.org.uk

 Confidentiality

The Data Protection Act 1998 controls how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses and governmental departments.

Under the Data Protection Act, we have a responsibility to only hold information about you which is relevant and to ensure that it is adequate for our purposes only and is kept up to date. The information we need to hold about you will include your name and address, past medical history where relevant, and records of your dental treatment.

All of our team are aware of their legal and ethical responsibilities under the Data Protection Act and understand that everything involving your details and care are to be kept confidential at all times.

For more information about the Data Protection Act visit  www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act

 We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This organisation is “the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.” This basically means that they look to give guidance to all organisations registered with them on how data should be used, they protect the individual and the information held about them from being used unlawfully and they also take appropriate action to prosecute when the data protection law is broken.

For more information about the Information Commissioner’s Office visit  http://ico.org.uk

The General Dental Council

 All of our dental staff are registered with the General Dental Council (GDC).  These are our Dentists, our Dental Nurses and our Dental Hygienist who is also a qualified Dental Therapist. 

All dental professionals have to be registered and must continue to meet the standards set by the GDC throughout their careers.  This includes keeping up to date with specific training requirements as well as maintaining the standards set by them regarding patient care.  The GDC will actually take action against any dental professional who are not registered with them or those who do not adhere to their regulations.

There are 9 principles set by the GDC which all of their registered dental professionals must adhere to. These are:

- Put patients’ interests first

- Communicate effectively with patients 

- Obtain valid consent

- Maintain and protect patients’ information

- Have a clear and effective complaints procedure

- Work with colleagues in a way that is in patients’ best interests

- Maintain, develop and work within your professional knowledge and skills

- Raise concerns if patients are at risk

- Make sure your personal behaviour maintains patients’ confidence in you and the dental profession

We all ensure that these principles are met at all times, as should the GDC find that we are not meeting their guidelines then they can remove a dental professional from their register and they will no longer be able to practice.

If you would like any further information about the GDC and their principles then visit www.gdc-uk.org