Dental practice first aid legal and professional requirements

Do I require a nationally accredited first aid certificate?

The short answer is no. 

The nationally accredited certificate is only required if you are undertaking some sort of formal vocational education course (eg Certificate III in Dental Assistant) that states the nationally accredited first aid unit (eg HLTAID011) is required for its successful completion.

The nationally accredited certificate is a lifelong qualification and once obtained is not required again.  However, first aid does need to be refreshed regularly for the workplace and customised workplace first aid training is sufficient.  

How does Cynergex help you with this?

Cynergex has designed and constantly updates the Management of Medical Emergency in the Dental Practice course, to ensure it is current and meets the needs of the dental practice workplace. 

What does the law require?

All employers (PCBU) are required by the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2000, to provide their employees with training and equipment to managing first aid and medical emergencies in their workplace.  

To do this the dental practice owner must:

  • Undertake a risk assessment of the most likely emergencies in the workplace,
  •  Equip the workplace to meet and manage these threats,
  • Train employees to use the equipment correctly and manage the threats effectively, and
  • Review the threat assessment and re-train on a regular basis.

How does Cynergex help you with this?

In designing the Management of Medical Emergencies course, Cynergex consulted closely with the industry and professional bodies, including the Australian Dental Board and ADA, to design a course and equipment that meets all of these requirements.  It is recommend that the course be done every 12 months to ensure skill levels are maintained and updated to meet the posed threats.

What does the dental board require?

The Australian Dental Board requires dental professionals to mitigate risk within their practices, by the having a plan, equipment and training to meet these risks. This requires:

  • Regular ‘hands on’ training for the dentist and the dental team,
  • Use of written protocols informed by the Therapeutic Guidelines and Australian Resuscitation Guidelines for the  management of the most common emergencies, and the regular review of the protocols within the practice.

How does Cynergex help you with this?

Cynergex assists you to meet the requirements of the dental board through the provision of our Management of Medical Emergencies course and our treatment guidelines, which are derived from the leading medical research bodies, including the Therapeutic and ARC guidelines.

What do I need for accreditation?

For accreditation the dental practice needs to demonstrate that it has conducted a risk assessment and developed an appropriate medical emergency plan.  It also needs to show it has the equipment and has trained the dental team in to deal with these emergencies. 

How does Cynergex help you with this?

The Management of Medical Emergencies course uses a CRM (Crew resource management) approach that focuses on a team response to emergencies and rehearses the dentist, the dental assistants and other personnel in their specific roles in an emergency.