B.L.S for Dental Practices (verifiable C.P.D)                  

This course can be tailored to meet the individual needs of your practice, and is based on the resucitation council guidelines for dental practices:

- Dental practitioners and other dental care professionals must be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) so that in the event of cardiorespiratory arrest occurring they can:  

recognise cardiorespiratory arrest;

summon help immediately (dial 999);

start CPR, using chest compressions and providing ventilation with a pocket mask or bag-mask device and supplemental oxygen. (Evidence suggests that chest compressions can be performed effectively in a fully reclined dental chair);

attempt defibrillation (if appropriate) within 3 minutes of collapse, using an AED;

provide other advanced life support skills if appropriate and if trained to do so.

- Dental practitioners and other dental care professionals who work with children should learn the differences in CPR (from CPR in adults) for use in children and practise these on paediatric manikins.

- Dental practitioners and other dental healthcare staff should update their knowledge and skills in resuscitation at least annually.

- A system must be in place for identifying which equipment requires special training, (such as AEDs, bag-mask devices and orophayryngeal airway insertion) and for ensuring that such training takes place.

- All new members of dental staff should have resuscitation training as part of their induction programme.

- Training can be undertaken locally within the dental practice or within local or regional training centres. Qualified trainers in resuscitation from within the dental practice staff should be encouraged to deliver ‘cascade’ training to other staff members (e.g. in Basic Life Support). Training in more advanced techniques may require a more advanced trainer (e.g. Resuscitation Officer) or attendance at a designated course.

- For all staff, various methods to acquire, maintain and assess resuscitation skills and knowledge can be used for updates (e.g. life support courses, simulation training, mock-drills, ‘rolling refreshers’, e-learning, video-based training/self instruction). The appropriate methods should be determined locally. For example, the interactive film Lifesaver (http://www.life-saver.org.uk/), developed by the Resuscitation Council (UK), or brief videos aimed at   lay people may be appropriate for non-clinical staff. ‘Hands-on’ simulation training and assessment is recommended for clinical staff.

- Training in resuscitation must be a fundamental requirement for dental practitioners and other dental care professional qualifications. Undergraduate and postgraduate examinations for all dental practitioners and dental care professionals should include an evaluation of competency in resuscitation techniques appropriate to their role.

- All primary dental care providers should recognise the need for and make provision for dental staff to have sufficient time to train in resuscitation skills as part of their employment.

- All training should be recorded in a database.

- Training and retraining should be a mandatory requirement for Continuing Professional Development and maintenance on professional healthcare registers. It may be appropriate for some retraining to be undertaken using ‘e-learning’.