South Bank Dental Care

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 22 March 2023 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions.

We planned the inspection to check whether the registered practice was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.

The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

• The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.
• The practice had ineffective arrangements to deal with medical emergencies.
• The practice had ineffective systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises.
• Improvements were needed to staff recruitment procedures so that they reflected current legislation.
• There was lack of an effective oversight for the day to day management of the practice.

Background

The provider is part of a dental group with 6 locations, and this report is about South Bank Dental Care.

The practice is in the London Borough of Newham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. There is limited car parking available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 1 qualified dental nurse and 2 trainee dental nurses, and 1 receptionist. One practice manager provides management cover to each of the 6 practices.

The practice has 3 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 2 dentists, 2 dental nurse, the receptionist and the practice manager.

We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open between:

9am and 5.30pm on Monday to Fridays.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Take action to ensure audits of antimicrobial prescribing are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.