defibs for dentists - from the experts

Buying a defibrillator for your practice is an important decision, especially when its unlikely you'll ever need to use it, and because this life saving piece of kit is going to sit on a shelf for long periods of time simply buying the "cheapest" may well not be your best investment approach.

For one thing you want a defibrillator with pedigree, one that is going to last in the long term with an excellent manufacturers warranty and more importantly one that you can count on to work when you need it!

Defibrillators are clever bits of kit, they ensure they are ready for use by performing monthly, weekly and in some cases daily self checks of battery levels and internal circuitry some even check to make sure the electrode pads are connected, one manufacturers defibrillators even checks they are fit for purpose!

To help you make the right long term investment decision for your practice you need to speak to the experts at defibshop.co.uk

Why trust us?

Because we are the ONLY company in the UK that sells every manufacturers defibrillator we can independantly help you select the best one for your practice (if we only sold one manufacturers defibrillator like most distributors we couldn't be impartial could we?)

We don't favour any defibrillator over another and we have sold every defibrillator we sell into a dental practice somewhere across the UK over the last 7-8 years, we certainly know what we are talking about! 

So make sure you enhance and protect your standards of care and reputation with a defibrillator from defibshop.co.uk

Since the Resuscitation Council (UK) published a statement in July 2006 concerning the standards expected of dental practitioners and dental care professionals (DCPs) in general practice within the UK thousands of dental practices have purchased defibrillators or been supplied them by their PCT's.

Public expectation is that dental practitioners and their support staff should be able to deal promptly and effectively with a medical emergency that might occur within a dental setting.

The guidelines from the Resuscitation Council (UK) advise that Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) should be available in every healthcare environment and that the Dental Surgery is not seen as an exception. "There is a public expectation that dental practitioners and dental care professionals should be competent in managing common medical emergencies." they also go on to state very clearly that "All clinical areas should have immediate access to an automated external defibrillator (AED)."

More recently the Care Quality Commission has issued guidance on compliance for dental practices and within it they are clear that "equipment required for resuscitation or other medical emergencies is available and accessible for use as quickly as possible" A defibrillator would be such a piece of equipment under Outcome 11 Safety, availability and suitability of equipment. 

With an increasingly ageing population and patients with complex medical histories routinely seeking and receiving dental care in general practice, it is incumbent upon the healthcare team to be aware of the vulnerability of these patients and to take appropriate precautions to protect them.

As some patients are anxious about dental treatment, and this anxiety can be compounded by the medication and treatment given to patients by a dentist. The public and the General Dental Council (GDC) expect members of the dental team to be able to recognise and manage medical emergencies appropriately and promptly. There is also an expectation that a team will be appropriately trained and rehearsed.

The General Dental Council in 'Standards for dental professionals' states that "All dental professionals are responsible for putting patients' interests first, and acting to protect them" and in their guidance 'Principles of dental team working' the GDC states "All members of staff, not just registered team members, know their role if a patient collapses or there is another kind of medical emergency." and that "All members of staff who might be involved in dealing with a medical emergency are trained and prepared to deal with such an emergency at any time, and practise together regularly"

AED’s are a necessary item of equipment in the diagnosis and management of cardiac arrest and its precursors.

The failure of a dental practice to use an AED on a collapsed patient may result in a member of the dental team being challenged if it can be shown that it could have favourably influenced to the outcome.

This could also result in criticism of the dental practitioner or DCP responsible for equipping and arranging training for the practice. The existence of a recommendation of this nature from a body as authoritative as the Resuscitation Council means that a dental professional may be challenged where the standard of care provided differs from these guidelines.