Care Quality Commission and GDC issue joint statement regarding life support training for dental professionals
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 25th November 2020
The Care Quality Commission and General Dental Council (GDC) have released their annual life support statement in light of Covid-19, which can be read here. It is recommended that dental professionals undertake life support training every year. However, it has been recognised that access to accredited training may have been affected by the pandemic.
Resuscitation Council (UK) recommends cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for dental teams. Their document Quality Standards: Primary Dental Care states: “Dental practitioners and other dental healthcare staff should update their knowledge and skills in resuscitation at least annually.”
Together, the Care Quality Commission and GDC recognise that Covid-19 social distancing can make accessing accredited training difficult. This includes Basic Life Support (BLS) and Immediate Life Support (ILS).
Providers and individual dental professionals should continue to make every effort to complete accredited BLS/ILS training annually. However, if this training is unavailable due to current Covid-19 restrictions, appropriate alternative provisions, in accordance with relevant government guidance, should be made.
For example:
- E-learning.
- Self-directed study.
- Team-based scenario training in the clinical environment.
Records and evidence of efforts made to access training and to update CPR knowledge and skills should be maintained.
