Disability part 3: improving access to dental practices in Merseyside.

Several Merseyside dental practices took part in disability access audits of practice premises and practice staff took part in disability awareness training. Grants were awarded to part-fund improvements to practice facilities in line with the recommendations in the audit reports. The dental teams reported that the awareness training was very valuable and many common issues arose from the audits. Access for disabled people needs to be considered in all practice developments to ensure that dental practices comply with Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act by 2004.