Important CQC Considerations When Acquiring a Dental Practice

Important CQC Considerations when Acquiring a Dental Practice

Before you get to deep into your Dental practice acquisition, it is crucial that you make your application to the CQC before the process gets well underway…

It became a legal requirement in 2011 for all Dental practitioners to register with the CQC (The Care Quality Commission) 

And it is a criminal offence to own a practice without being registered with them! 

The process for making an application can be extremely complex and an application can end up being rejected over the most trivial piece of outstanding information.

This can be extremely frustrating to you the Dental practice acquirer so it is vital to try and get it right the first time. 

There is definitely a fine balance to knowing when the right time to start your application and the CQC aim to have applications completed within 10-12 weeks (from start to finish)...

You will be asked for an ‘effective date’, which is basically the completion date of your acquisition so it is important that careful consideration be given to a number of factors before considering whether an application should be submitted yet. 

Leaving it too late, leads to the assessor not processing the application in time for the desired completion date. 

Leaving it too early, an application can be rejected by an assessor if it is submitted outside of the maximum 12 week timescale. 

And applications submitted with the earliest possible date in mind – within the 10-12 week timescale – are often rejected by the CQC because completion goes beyond that date which leads to extension requests. 

It is important to understand, that CQC cannot keep applications open indefinitely and whilst they appreciate delays occurring, it is within their discretion if applications are kept open. 

If they do grant an extension, the maximum will be a number of weeks only! 

For an NHS practice the registration of the partnership should happen on the same day the buyer is added as a provider to the GDS contract…

And the changes should happen simultaneously with it being noted that NHS England usually agree to any variations at the start of the month as opposed to mid-month. 

This factor may not necessarily apply to private practices however, the timescales imposed by CQC definitely do! 

It is important for the acquirer to also consider if notice to cease any existing associate agreements should be served and how long that notice period is. 

Because a buyer with a 3 month notice period may wish to have a period of 3 months between exchange and completion. 

This should definitely be taken into account when making an application!

Before even submitting an application it is wise to consider whether the business and property elements are progressing as planned. 

If not, hold off on submitting before these are dealt with! 

Scaling up profitably through Dental practice acquisition will only work if you are comfortably prepared for the process ahead…

So if you want more information on considerations to think about during your CQC application or finding out who the CQC are, then Retiring Dentist can help you navigate those without you losing your footing.

Best wishes, 

Kimberley Hagues

PS. If you want to grow your practice and maximise your profits, then follow the steps outlined here!