PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Fit for purpose

The Dental Council of Ireland is engaged in a process of updating its codes of practice. Council has also made a submission to Government on the proposed amendments to the Dentists Act 1985.

Why were new codes needed?

Our previous Council formed an opinion that all of the Dental Council’s guidance publications should be reviewed. The replaced code on professional behaviour and ethical conduct was issued in 2012 and it was timely to review it. The Dental Council has an obligation to ensure that our materials are fit for purpose, contemporary and, importantly, reflect current practice. The Council felt that new codes were required to try and ensure clarity and enhance patient safety. The most significant changes affecting the entire profession are the professional behaviour and ethics code and the medical emergency guidance, particularly the emergency drugs a practice should have available. The emergency drugs guidance is perhaps the code that will require the most attention from each of us, given specific requirements concerning patient safety. The code around public relations and advertising was particularly dated and needed significant attention. Indeed, we are revoking it entirely. New codes for registrants providing sedation were considered important and the code for non-surgical cosmetic procedures has also been changed. Changes in other pieces of legislation also needed to be reflected in our codes, for example legislative changes concerning adverse events with a requirement to disclose an adverse outcome to a patient, and changes concerning the protection of children, assisted decision-making and data protection.

Dr Gerry Cleary

President, Dental Council of Ireland A detailed process

This has been a considerable body of work, which has taken about three years to complete and has carried over from the previous Council, who completed most of the project. The initial work was completed by a subcommittee of Council, working with the Dental Council secretariat, who reviewed the codes on ethics, non-surgical cosmetic procedures and public relations. A separate group, initially under the direction of Prof. Leo Stassen and later Paul Brady, prepared the sedation guidelines, and a group chaired by Dr Brett Duane prepared the emergency drugs guidance, with the help of specially formed and