Ensuring employers are compliant

Care Quality Commission Regulation 18

Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 18 The intention of this regulation is to make sure that providers deploy enough suitably qualified, competent and experienced staff to enable them to meet all other regulatory requirements described in this part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. To meet the regulation, providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times and the other regulatory requirements set out in this part of the above regulations. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role and responsibilities. They should be supported to obtain further qualifications and provide evidence, where required, to the appropriate regulator to show that they meet the professional standards needed to continue to practise.

CQC cannot prosecute for a breach of this regulation or any of its parts, but we can take regulatory action. See the offence section for more detail.

CQC must refuse registration if providers cannot satisfy us that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.

Guidance for employers

Persons employed by the service provider in the provision of a regulated activity must—
Receive such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as is necessary to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform,

• Providers must ensure that they have an induction programme that prepares staff for their role. It is expected that providers that employ healthcare assistants and social care support workers should follow the Care Certificate standards to make sure new staff are supported, skilled and assessed as competent to carry out their roles.
• Training, learning and development needs of individual staff members must be carried out at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals during the course of employment. Staff must be supported to undertake training, learning and development to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their role.
• Where appropriate, staff must be supervised until they can demonstrate required/acceptable levels of competence to carry out their role unsupervised.
• Staff should receive appropriate ongoing or periodic supervision in their role to make sure competence is maintained.
• Providers must ensure that all staff receive training in how to interact appropriately with people with a learning disability and autistic people, at a level appropriate to their role.
• Staff should be supported to make sure they are can participate in: Statutory training.Other mandatory training, as defined by the provider for their role. Any additional training identified as necessary to carry out regulated activities as part of their job duties and, in particular, to maintain necessary skills to meet the needs of the people they care for and support. Other learning and development opportunities required to enable them to fulfil their role. This includes first aid training for people working in the adult social care sector.
• All learning and development and required training completed should be monitored and appropriate action taken quickly when training requirements are not being met.
• Staff should receive regular appraisal of their performance in their role from an appropriately skilled and experienced person and any training, learning and development needs should be identified, planned for and supported.
• Staff must receive appropriate supervision in their role to ensure they demonstrate and maintain competence in understanding the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including knowing how to support them in the best way.
• Health, social and other care professionals must have access to clinical or professional supervision as required, in line with the requirements of the relevant professional regulator.

Be enabled where appropriate to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform, and

• Providers must support staff to obtain appropriate further qualifications that would enable them to continue to perform their role.
• Providers must not act in a way that prevents or limits staff from obtaining further qualifications that are appropriate to their role.

Please click here to view the Full Regulation 18: Staffing

Safeguarding children and young people should be integrated into existing practice systems and processes for delivering care.

Everyone who comes into contact with children and young adults at risk using health and care services have a responsibility to safeguard them from suffering any form of abuse or improper treatment while receiving care.

The competency framework set out in the intercollegiate guidance specifies six levels/competencies:

This sets out the minimum training requirements:

• Level 1: for all non-clinical staff (for example receptionists and practice managers)
• Level 2: for all dentists and dental care professionals
• Level 3: for paediatric dentists and paediatric orthodontists (those who could contribute to assessing, planning, intervening and evaluating the needs of a child or young person and parenting capacity where there is safeguarding/child protection concerns). This training is not normally required for dentists and dental care professionals working in general dental practice.

What Dentrain Professionals Ltd will do to help support practices meet aspects of Regulation 18

Induction
Dentrain Professionals Ltd carry out a robust induction for apprentices, ensuring that documentation is recorded to include the in house induction process has been carried out. At the start of the apprenticeship, the scheme of work / delivery plan is provided to employers and apprentices to inform of the introduction stages to include: professional knowledge and ethical practice, health and safety and infection control. These being the first 3 topic areas that are taught given these are fundamental topic areas for dental nurses to proceed further with their knowledge, skills and behaviours. The employer is provided with an opportunity to discuss the scheme of work / delivery plan and highlight any adaptations they may require in line with the training of practical skills in practice. This is then reviewed continuously throughout the duration of the apprenticeship.

Training, learning and development needs of individuals
An initial assessment is carried out with all apprentices at the start of the apprenticeship which will provide an individual learning plan to meet the apprentices and the practice needs. This will inlcude the setting of SMART targets as well as highlighting any specific additional learner needs and how these will be supported. The practice will be informed of any needs identified from the initial assessment and ongoing assessment throughout the duartion of the apprenticeship will be carried out to ensure support is effective.

Practice support to undertake training, learning and development to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their role
Learner Development Officers / Assessors will arrange face to face teaching and learning sessions at the start of each topic as set out in the scheme of work / delivery plan. For practices to meet the requirements of Regulation 18 it is their responsibilty to allow the time for teaching and learning sessions to take place so that training, learning and development can take place and enable the apprentice to fulfil the requirements of their role as an apprentice dental nurse. Upon notification of a CQC inspection, Dentrain professionals Ltd will be able to provide proof of attendence to sessions carried out to the CQC upon request and highlight the practices support also.