100+ policies. HTM 01-05. IRMER. Safeguarding. All due for review. All generic.
A dental practice needs over 100 policies — from infection control and decontamination (HTM 01-05) to radiation protection (IRMER), safeguarding, lone working, whistleblowing, data protection, and everything in between. Most practices buy a generic policy pack from a subscription service and never customise them. CQC inspectors notice. The policies reference 'the organisation' instead of your practice name, cite outdated regulations, and don't reflect how you actually work. Your policy agent maintains a dental-specific policy library that references your practice by name, your actual procedures, your staff roles, and current regulatory requirements — and keeps them updated when regulations change.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent maintains a dental-specific policy library that actually describes how your practice works — not a generic template pack that references 'the organisation' throughout.
Covers the full dental policy library
Infection control (HTM 01-05), radiation protection (IRMER), COSHH, safeguarding adults and children, decontamination, medical emergencies, lone working, whistleblowing, data protection, complaints — your agent maintains all the policies a CQC-registered dental practice requires.
Written for your practice, not 'the organisation'
Your policies reference your practice name, your specific procedures, your named safeguarding lead, your decontamination room layout, your radiation protection arrangements. An inspector can tell the difference between a policy that describes your practice and one that describes nobody's.
Tracks regulatory changes and flags updates needed
When HTM 01-05 guidance changes, or IRMER regulations are updated, or CQC publishes new Quality Statements — your agent flags which policies need updating and drafts the revisions. You review and approve, not research and rewrite.
Manages the annual review cycle
Each policy has a review date. Your agent tracks them all, drafts updates as reviews fall due, and maintains a policy review log that CQC can inspect. No more discovering during inspection that half your policies are two years overdue for review.
Handles DSPT-related policies
The new CQC Category 3 DSPT requirements include having a digital asset register, cyber security policies, and data handling procedures. Your agent ensures these newer requirements are covered in your policy library, not just the traditional clinical policies.
The real numbers.
| Policy subscription service | £800–£1,500/year |
| Practice manager time customising generic policies | £500–£1,000/year |
| Policies that never get customised (inspection risk) | Unquantified but real |
| Realistic annual cost | £1,600–£2,500 |
| Agent build (one-off, full library configured to your practice) | £2,000–£3,500 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £60–£120/month |
| Regulatory update monitoring | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £2,720–£4,940 |
Generic policy packs exist for a reason — writing 100+ policies from scratch is unreasonable for any practice manager. But CQC's expectation is clear: your policies should describe how your service operates, not how a template provider thinks services generally operate.
Your agent gives you the best of both: comprehensive coverage without the blank-page problem, customised to your practice without the customisation burden.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Any CQC-registered dental practice with 100+ policies to maintain
- Practices currently using a generic subscription policy pack
- Multi-site dental groups wanting consistent but site-specific policies
- Practices where CQC has commented that policies don't reflect actual practice
This probably isn't for you if:
- You have a compliance officer who maintains and customises all policies
- You're satisfied with your current policy provider and CQC hasn't raised concerns
- You have a very small practice with minimal policy requirements
Let's talk.
We'll start with your current policy situation — what service you use (if any), how many policies you have, when they were last reviewed, and which ones CQC has commented on. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com