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1. Where is your practice?
Central Dental Care, the Wembley practice, is positioned just to the West of Wembley Central. Our address is: 555 High Road, Wembley, HA0 2DW. Please click here for a map and further directions.
We were forced to relocate our practice and took over the current premises in Wembley in March 2003.The move was a challenge, but it now has five very modern, well equipped treatment rooms and 20 staff, including ten dentists and 2 hygienists. To meet the requirements of the area, our staff can translate in Singhalese, Gujarati, Hindi Urdu, Polish, Romanian, Nepalese and Spanish!
2. How do you maintain standards?
In June 2004 we were awarded accreditation from Investors in People (IIP). We thought it was important to celebrate the practice move and mark it by applying for the award. The Investor in People accreditation is very worthwhile as it enables us to review all aspects of training and give our staff individual plans while working towards common strategic objectives. We are greatly supported by our manager Liz and her team. But, like all practices, we are concerned about the government's lack of investment, so we are looking to spend more time in the private sector.
We are just about to take part in BDA Good Practice, another award scheme that examines the clinical aspects of our surgery in terms of Health and Safety.
3. What plans are there to improve the practice?
We are constantly attending training courses and each member of staff will report on a learning event and highlight the way in which a new technique or material will benefit patient perception of care. In addition, we set strategic objectives for new treatments and ensure that we build treatment plans that incorporate the new techniques that we have trained our staff to incorporate into practice. For instance the introduction of implants to the practice had involved Leslie Padayachee studying for an MSc in Implant dentistry.
4. What are the ambitions of the people who work with you?
Having been through the IIP programme, all our team know that there are career paths open to them, and these career paths will become ever more important with registration of Professions Complementary to Dentistry this year.
5. Do you have any advice for dentists setting up in practice or advice regarding people (staff and patients) or places?
Research is a must. Make sure your research is thorough and attend as many courses in setting up a practice as you possibly can. Make sure you get all the advice you can get from CODE on every angle of what you are trying to do. Also ensure that you build a team around you that is focused on the philosophy that you want to follow.
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