Dental Regulation (updated 29 July 2011)
Following an amendment to legislation, from 1 April 2011, establishments providing private dental care or treatment are subject to The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, and must be registered by RQIA.
In advance of 1 April, all dental practices will receive an application pack from RQIA. Registration forms must be completed, with the required information and appropriate fees, and returned to RQIA within the specified timescales (Please note: only dental practices delivering exclusively health and social care services are excluded from regulation.)
For full information on the regulation of private dental treatment, you can read RQIA's guidance manual here.
You can access a range of relevant legislation below:
The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005
Requirement to Register
As it is an offence under Article 12 of The Health and Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 to carry on or manage a regulated establishment without being registered in respect of it, Dental Practices who have not been operational before 1 April 2011 require to be fully registered by RQIA prior to commencing provision of private treatment and services
Dental Practices who have been operational before 1 April 2011 can continue to provide private dental treatment pending registration with RQIA. In these cases, the completed application for registration is made with RQIA. In these cases, the completed application pack, appropriately signed, or a certification of exemption form should be returned to RQIA.
Applications should be made using the below forms. Please refer to the Application Guidance for further information.
If you intend to provide private dental care and treatment after 1 April 2011, you should submit application forms, associated documentation as well as fee payments (see Application Guidance).
If you do not intend to provide any kind of private dental care and treatment after 1 April 2011 in your dental practice, please submit a Certification of Exemption form.
We would ask that all the documents are completed electronically where possible. The documents should then be printed off and signed prior to posting to RQIA. As the documents contain personal information they should be marked Confidential and FAO The Registration Team.
Application Pack
Information about the responsible person
Information about the manager
Other Documentation
Guidance Notes and Other Correspondence
Provider Guidance
Further Guidance on Policies and Policy Statements
In response to queries regarding the list of policies and policy statements outlined in appendices four and five of the RQIA self assessment, the following guidance outlines examples where the required policies may already be contained within policies that should already be in place in practices.The policy list is not exhaustive and each practice should consider their situation in the context of the service(s) provided.
Guidance on Legionella Risk Assessment
Under general health and safety law, all dentists have to consider the risks from legionella that may affect staff or members of the public and take suitable precautions. Guidance on risk assessment can be found on the HSE website at the following link:www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/legionella
It is suggested that you read the guide for employers on this link and decide on the appropriate course of action for your practice to comply with this requirement.A copy of the approved code of practice - L8 - Legionnaires' Disease - The Control of Legionella Bacteria in Water Systems can be found at the HSENI website under the topic ‘legionella’.
www.hseni.gov.uk/resources.htm
Further information and guidance can be found at the following link:
Guidance on Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
To access guidance on Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults, please click on the links below:
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