Dorset has a PASS Scheme (Practitioner Advice and Support Service). The majority of dentists work to a very high standard but sometimes their performance may fall significantly below this level. There are many reasons why this may happen with illness, personal problems, overwork, isolation and substance abuse being common ones. Work colleagues are often the first to recognise these problems.
Areas that may give rise for concern may include:
- Poor practice management and patient care
- Behavioural problems
- Poor clinical standards
- Lack of respect for the rights and concerns of the patient
- Frequent complaints
- Frequent or routine disregard for accepted rules of clinical practice
- Suspected fraudulent or criminal behaviour
If you recognise these problems with any of your colleagues, or even yourself, then you can refer these to the PASS Scheme. It is far better to help a colleague recognise and deal with a problem sooner than later particularly if drugs or alcohol are involved. PASS is a service that attempts to provide problem resolutions at an early stage. We adhere to the Caldecott guidelines on confidentiality, subject to our obligation to refer on where there are patient safety issues or a crime may have been committed.