Gibraltar Dental Association presents Good Practice Scheme certificates

The Gibraltar Dental Association (GDA) recently presented certificates after becoming part of the British Dental Association’s (BDA) Good Practice Scheme.

Over the last 10 years, the GDA has been proactive in raising standards in its membership and improving the experience for patients locally.

This has involved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses, close working relationships with successive Ministers for Health and Directors of Public Health, training courses for Dental Nurses and the establishment of several standardised protocols across GDA member private sector practices.

Some three years ago the GDA successfully negotiated an important agreement with their colleagues in the much larger British Dental Association (BDA) which allowed members full access to their CPD resources.

This included GDA member private sector practices becoming part of the BDA’s Good Practice Scheme (GPS), a benchmark for quality, well run dental practices on the high street.

“The impetus for this agreement stemmed from Clinical Governance which requires that practices have quality assurance systems and policies in place for working to their highest possible standards,” the GDA said in a statement.

“The BDA GPS run in tandem with the GDA has been the pilot, wholly online version, of the BDA’s otherwise long running and very successful dental practice quality assurance programme.”

The first initial three-year cycle of the GPS came to an end on June 30, 2024 with seven successful GDA member practices completing it.

Earlier this month, the GDA hosted a presentation evening of GPS certificates and awards at the Casino Calpe for the seven successful local dental practices.

The Minister for Health Gemma Arias-Vasquez and the Director of Public Health Dr Helen Carter were in attendance.

GDA Chairman, Dr Daniel Borge, discussed the information given above before warmly congratulating the various teams that had worked their way through the programme over the last three years.

Thanks were given to previous and current Ministers for Health and Directors of Public Health for their support.

Special mention was made of all those who had contributed to the GPS’s successful conclusion including IT colleagues, BDA staff as well as GDA committee members past and present including Dr Emma Caetano and Dr Jonathan Zammitt. All team practice members in attendance were applauded for participating and collectively raising standards for the benefit of Gibraltar.

Mrs Arias-Vasquez then presented the successful practices with their certificates and awards. In conclusion, the public of Gibraltar now have a range of high street clinics which are Good Practice Scheme members.

GDA GPS member practices now have a quality assurance framework which ensures that they work to nationally agreed British standards of good practice.

They aim to develop and maintain a consistent quality of service for patients. Furthermore, the BDA in tandem with the GDA will continue to check that practices are meeting GPS requirements as part of their ongoing membership requirements.

The GPS covers professional competence, Recruiting and employing team members, information for patients regarding the practice, team, their care, practice systems and information about patients' care for informed choices.

The GPS also covers data protection, involving patients in their care, working with professional colleagues in different settings, safe clinical environment, including cross infection control, safeguarding, safety incidents and medical emergencies, and feedback.

The GDA said it has enjoyed the total support of successive Ministers for Health as well as Directors for Public Health, giving the GPS full endorsement as a means of delivering Clinical Governance in private practice.

Patients should look out for the GDA Good Practice Scheme kite mark on the High Street and on GDA member practice websites which will distinguish clinics who comply with the GPS and the high standards they adhere to.

The successful clinics were: The Borge Dental Medical Centre, Linale and Associates Dental Surgery, George H Earle Dental Clinic, Dr Keith Vinnicombe Dental Clinic, The Dental Care Centre, S Ibgui & Associates Dental Clinic and New Smile Dental Clinic.

The GDA has been in existence for over 30 years and represents the majority of dentists in both the public and private sectors in Gibraltar.

The GDA’s website www.gda.gi contains full details about standards, ethics and code of conduct.