Nottingham dental patient recalls cause media storm
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- Published: Wednesday, 12 November 2014 21:30
- Written by News Editor
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Since June 2014 NHS England in Nottinghamshire has been working with Public Health England to investigate apparent breaches of infection control procedures by a dentist in Nottinghamshire. BDA’s John Milne said: “There is absolutely no excuse for putting patients at risk. We champion the highest standards in dentistry, and rigorous infection control procedures need to be at the heart of any practice, large or small”.
NHS England investigations demonstrate that acceptable infection control standards do not appear to have been followed by Mr Desmond D’Mello whilst he was treating patients at the former Daybrook Dental Practice. Immediate actions were taken to protect current patients once these apparent lapses were identified. However, this alleged drop in clinical standards may have put people at a low risk of blood born viruses. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, NHS England is advising all patients who have seen Mr D’Mello to seek further advice on what action they may need to take.
The chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, Dr John Milne, said: “There is absolutely no excuse for putting patients at risk. We champion the highest standards in dentistry, and rigorous infection control procedures need to be at the heart of any practice, large or small. Clinical experts from Public Health England have established there is low risk of exposure. But today these patients need some reassurance, and recall is therefore a sensible precaution. Dentists across the UK are setting high standards, and any exceptions are both regrettable and rare. But today's news does raise questions about the current inspection regime. We've long argued that dental experts need to be on the front line for inspections. We must ensure we have inspectors who know what good practice looks like, and we will be working closely with the Care Quality Commission to make that a reality."
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