1. General Statement of Intent
Evergreen Dental Staffing Agency ("Evergreen Dental") is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of all its agency workers, internal staff, client practice personnel, and patients. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated UK statutory regulations, Evergreen Dental recognises its responsibility to provide safe operational procedures, robust compliance screening, and clear communication channels to eliminate workplace hazards and prevent injury or ill-health.
It is our policy to foster a culture where health, safety, and infection prevention are integral to all dental nurse and receptionist placements across NHS and private clinical settings in England.
2. Roles & Responsibilities
Health and safety management is a shared responsibility between Evergreen Dental, host dental practices, and placed agency personnel:
- Evergreen Dental Management: Responsible for maintaining compliance screening, validating immunisation records, auditing safety policies, and acting promptly on hazard reports or incident notices.
- Host Dental Practices (Clients): Responsible for providing a safe physical surgery environment, providing site-specific inductions (including emergency exits, fire procedures, and local radiation safety rules), and providing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for clinical duties.
- Agency Workers (Dental Nurses & Receptionists): Responsible for taking reasonable care of their own health and safety, adhering to HTM 01-05 decontamination protocols, utilising provided PPE, and immediately reporting any hazards or unsafe practice conditions.
3. Clinical Compliance & Immunisations
To protect both clinical personnel and patients from biological hazards and cross-infection, Evergreen Dental enforces strict pre-placement health screening:
- Hepatitis B Immunity: All locum dental nurses must provide validated laboratory proof of Hepatitis B antibody status (titre levels) or evidence of non-responder management before assignment.
- Occupational Health Vetting: Proof of required immunisations (including Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Tuberculosis screening where appropriate) is checked during onboarding.
- Fitness to Work: Workers must confirm they are physically and mentally fit to perform assigned duties and notify Evergreen Dental immediately of any health condition or medical change that may impact patient safety.
4. HTM 01-05 & Decontamination Standards
Cross-infection prevention is critical in dental surgery environments. All locum dental nurses placed by Evergreen Dental are required to adhere strictly to the guidelines set out in Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (HTM 01-05):
- Strict adherence to hand hygiene techniques, clinical handwashing, and bare-below-the-elbows policies in treatment areas.
- Proper utilisation and disposal of single-use items and appropriate sterilisation protocols for reusable clinical instruments.
- Correct segregation, handling, and disposal of clinical waste, sharp objects, and dental amalgam in compliance with environmental and hazardous waste regulations.
- Use of appropriate PPE, including fluid-resistant surgical masks, eye protection/visors, disposable gloves, and clinical aprons.
5. Sharps Safety & Inoculation Injury Protocol
In accordance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013:
- Host practices must provide safer sharps devices wherever reasonably practicable.
- In the event of a needlestick or inoculation injury, workers must immediately follow the host practice’s local emergency needle-stick protocol (e.g. encouragement of bleeding under running water, washing with soap, and immediate reporting to the practice Principal or Practice Manager).
- Assistance and urgent Occupational Health assessment or A&E attendance must be sought without delay for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) evaluation. All incidents must be logged with Evergreen Dental within 24 hours.
6. Incident Reporting & RIDDOR
All accidents, near-misses, dangerous occurrences, or cases of work-related ill health occurring during an assignment must be reported immediately to the host Practice Manager and to Evergreen Dental management.
Where an accident falls under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), Evergreen Dental and the host practice will cooperate fully to ensure the incident is reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within prescribed statutory deadlines.
7. Policy Review & Monitoring
This policy is reviewed annually or following any significant change in healthcare legislation, CQC regulatory guidance, or internal operational structure to maintain maximum efficacy and clinical compliance.
Evergreen Dental Staffing Agency
Last Updated: August 2026