Supporting a Colleague Who Speaks Up

Supporting a Colleague Who Speaks Up is part of meeting I 2.8. For dental nurses, this includes listening, making accurate records, signposting routes for help and avoiding gossip.

Team working is a safety system: knowing roles, respecting scope, communicating clearly and protecting people who raise concerns.

In day-to-day practice this may be a patient who seems unsure, a receptionist seeking guidance, a dentist working quickly, a trainee asking for feedback, a digital message, a handover, or a colleague worried about speaking up. Interpersonal skill means responding with care, clarity and professional judgement.

Practical markers

• Notice: what the patient, colleague, situation or system is communicating.
• Choose: a communication method, team route or escalation step that fits the context.
• Respect: role boundaries, confidentiality, dignity, cultural needs and emotional impact.
• Check: understanding, responsibility, handover and whether the next person has the information they need.
• Follow up: through records, feedback, supervision, team discussion or concern-raising where needed.

Useful language can be simple: "Can we pause and check whose role this is, so the patient gets the right support?" This is calm, professional and gives the team a clear reason to pause, clarify or escalate.

SPF behaviour links

Ensuring people who raise concerns are protected from discrimination or other detrimental effects helps dental nurses protect patient dignity, team trust and safe care.