GDC
The General Dental Councli is the governing body of dentists in the UK. They require all dentists who wish to practice dentistry in the UK to take exams and register with them. This is done to protect the public who are in need of dental services.
We are proud to say that all of our dentists, lab technicians, dental hygienists, oral surgeons and orthodontists are registered with the GDC. Not only that, but as the GDC requires dentists to constantly expand their knowledge and take classes, we make sure that our dentists do their part and take the classes, this way we can keep both our equipment and the people operating them at the cutting edge of dentistry.
The main job of the GDC is to make sure that the procedures are carried out according to regulations and that the safety of the patients is maintained above all else. The councli of the GDC is responsible for setting the strategies and standards to which the GDC holds an individual dental practice, and it is also responsible for determining policy and upholding it. The councli is also responsible for registering dentists and making sure they uphold the laws regarding their trade, to protect patients from malpractice, and to ensure that dental education is up to par. The GDC is also responsible for investigating complaints made by the public against a dentist. There are yearly exams that the dentists need to take, in order to keep their registration, rigorous standards need to be met year after year if one is to practice legally in the UK.
The GDC operates via a councli of dentists. These dentists are often still practicing, and thus are aware of what a dentist needs to know in order to be able to provide the quality care that patients deserve. This is how dentists are evaluated in the UK, and we are proud to adhere to these standards and to this practice.
ICO
The ICO exists to protect the confidential information of patients. They are basically an information protection agency, and as such they make sure that patients have access to correct and informative data about the company which they work with. This is a state run institution and applies mostly to private practices. They mostly make sure that information that is confidential and provided by the patient cannot be accessed by third parties or unqualified individuals. They also make sure that data is stored and maintained of properly, so that no chances of identity theft are available.
It is important that the information that medical establishments keep about private persons is kept as safe as possible. It is also very important that their information is handled in a way as to not let third parties see them or get a hold of them. These are the things that the ICO checks out; if your network is secured, if paperwork containing information about private people is kept safe and is stored of in a safe manner, if your anti-virus, anti-spyware and other forms of protection is up to speed and up to par.
We at Forest and Ray pride ourselves on passing each and every exam and standard set by the ICO, and have the credentials to back our words up. Our systems are about as secure as it gets, and all information is handled in accordance with the laws set by this governing body.
The DDU
The Dental Defense Union is a division of the MDU, which is the first line of defense for doctors and patients alike. The DDU is responsible for providing indemnity insurance for dentists that are registered to work in the UK. IN order to work in the UK, a dentist has to be insured by the DDU.
The DDU has been around since 1885, and has always comprised of dentists who have been practicing for a long time. This is why they are so qualified at handling claims against dentists. They can objectively assess the situation, and see if the dentist in question has done everything in their power to prevent a bad situation from arising, or if they indeed can be held responsible for malpractice. The DDU handles claims and complaints, and assess every dento-legal action taken against a registered dentist in the UK.
The DDU also makes annual reports in which they assess the current legal situation in the UK, and these reports also note where and what kind of claims were legitimate, and what sort of malpractice happened in the period of time that the report is for.
The DDU is the world’s first medical defense organization. They take their job very seriously, and are known to investigate cases with ruthless precision. False charges are almost always criminally prosecuted, and all claims made are investigated by the DDU. This is why the UK has so few insurance scams and so few fake charges.
The DDU has a very strict process for how they handle complaints. If yo8u do not think that the agent handling your case is acting according to the process, you can get in touch with the DDU, and complain about it, and they will give you a new agent, or open a new case just for you.
Dental Protection
The Dental Protection Union is a worldwide organization, providing indemnity insurance for dentists worldwide. While it is not mandatory for a dentist working in the UK to be registered with this organization, we still choose to register all of our dentists, as this way they can be protected from false charges on more than one front (we also do the mandatory indemnity insurance from the DDU as well). While the DDU indemnity insurance is only valid in the UK and for procedures carried out in the UK, our dentists travel around the world, and this is why they need a different sort of indemnity insurance as well.
DPL provides insurance, indemnity and a lawyer to any dentist who is registered and comes under a malpractice lawsuit. They handle these lawsuits, investigate them and provide professionals who look into the case in question and provide a professional opinion. The DPL also provides counseling for people who have gotten into trouble, or are experiencing stress as a result from a dental lawsuit.
The DPL is a non-profit organization, and thus everything they do is for the protection of their clients. The lawyers do not work pro-bono, and all of the professionals are reimbursed for their time, and this money comes out of registry and retention fees.
It is important to note that the DPL only provides indemnity insurance, and no other kind of insurance at all.
Italain Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Forest & Ray has been a supporting member of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK since February 2012. Because our group has always had a great number of Italian colleagues, we try to offer our services to the Italian community in London and the Chamber is an extremely important partner in this endeavour. We keep a very good relationship with them, and we are very happy to inform you about two very successful events that we organized together. One was held in June 2012 at the Spianata Bakery & Restaurant and the second one was held recently at the .IT Wine Bar & Design Studio. Thanks to the precise and well qualified staff of the Chamber, we have organized only successful projects together.
Hungarian British Chamber of Commerce
The Hungarian British Chamber of Commerce is a private organization that is committed to upholding, supporting and providing business between the two countries it is involved with, namely the UK and Hungary. This organization is a collective of business owners, businessmen and entrepreneurs, who are invested in commerce between these two great nations.
The organization is mostly involved in networking and in providing networking events. The aim of the organization to be a platform for trade and commerce between the two countries.
We are registered with and take an active part in this organization, as we believe it is important to the future business interactions of these two countries. It is also important to both countries that there be some sort of forum for the exchange of goods and services between these countries, and that is why we support the Hungarian British Chamber Of Commerce.
What Clinic
One of the premier medical search engines online is WhatClinic.com, and we at Forest and Ray are proud to be one of the highest voted clinics in their directory.
WhatClinic.com offers easy access to prices, contact information for the facilities you are looking for, as well as all of the most important information, like who is in charge, what services the clinic provides and where it can be located. They have a ton of keywords you can browse by as well, whether you are looking for comsetic surgery, eye surgery, laser clinics, dentistries, or even fertility clinics, WhatClinic.com is the place for you.
This website deals mostly with clinics from the UK and Ireland, and has traffic of about 8 million searches per year. So if you need to find a doctor or clinic for your medical or aesthetic needs, do give them a try, as they are the largest UK based medical search engine on the internet.
Customer Service Awards
Whatclinic.com has been issuing the Customer Service Awards since 2010 in an attempt to reward clinics who were doing a good job at providing excellent service to their customers. These awards are given to less than 1% of clinics, and as such it is quite an honor to boast one of these, as only clinics who truly do a good job at satisfying their patients can get one.
The Standards by Which the Award Is Given
Whatclinic.com has some 117 000 entries labeled “patient feedback”. These are taken into consideration as well as the response rates both for e-mails and for phone calls, but primarily the patients themselves are encouraged to provide feedback and to write what they think about the clinic. There are also some 39 000 comments on the entries at Whatclinic.com, providing another major source of information to the awards.
It is our honor to announce that Forest&Ray has won the Customer Service Award every year since its inception.
CQC Inspection
What is the CQC inspection?
The CQC inspection is a routine inspection that is carried out in order to make sure that elementary standards of quality and hygiene are being met. The inspections are scheduled ahead of time, and are announced some time previous to the scheduled inspection.
The CQC inspection takes the treatment records for the patients into account, and asks them how they felt about the premises, and if they were satisfied with the outcome. They also accompany one of the dental treatment sessions while at the clinic, which in our case was on May 3rd, 2013.
At this session, patients revealed to us that they were very satisfied with the work; they thought that it was professionally done and carried out, and that the staff was “polite and helpful”. This is the best thing that a dentistry can experience, as we work hard to provide excellent quality care, which means making the patients feel comfortable, and responses like these make it worth our while. Patients also said that Forest and Ray were great at providing information about the treatments themselves, and just in the treatment plans; patients found our consultation sessions to be extremely helpful as well.
Our dental practice was of course also up to par for the rigorous standards set by the CQC in terms of quality of equipment, keeping records, and of hygiene as well. The only disadvantage that our clinic has is the location; it is located on the ground floor, and the stairs cannot be replaced, thus making it inaccessible to patients with wheelchairs.
