The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Hatfield Dental Care

12 High Street, Hatfield, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 6RY (01302) 843014

Provided and run by:
Hatfield Dental Care Limited

All Inspections

18/09/2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Hatfield Dental Care on 18 September 2023. This inspection was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.

We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Hatfield Dental Care on 20 February 2023 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well-led care and was in breach of regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Hatfield Dental Care dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

When 1 or more of the 5 questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

  • Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 20 February 2023.

Background

Hatfield Dental Care is in Hatfield, Doncaster 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. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 8 dental nurses (3 of whom are trainees), 2 dental therapists, a practice manager and 2 receptionists. The practice has 4 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 1 dentist, 1 dental nurse and 1 receptionist. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday and Thursday from 8am to 4.30pm

Tuesday from 8am to 7pm

Wednesday from 8am to 1.30pm

Friday from 8am to 5pm

20/02/2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 20 February 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, the following 5 questions were asked:

  • 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:

  • Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained. Improvement was needed to ensure environmental cleaning equipment was used and stored in line with published guidance.
  • More effective oversight and monitoring was required to ensure infection prevention and control validation protocols were in accordance with published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available; current processes for regular checks and the location of these required review.
  • The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises, some of which could be improved upon.
  • Systems to ensure appropriate staff recruitment checks were in place and recommended training was undertaken could be improved.
  • Improvement was needed in respect to prescription management, clinical waste oversight and response to safety alerts.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
  • 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.
  • Leadership, oversight and management of systems and processes could be improved.
  • Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.

Background

Hatfield Dental Care is in Hatfield, Doncaster 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. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 8 dental nurses (3 of whom are trainees), 2 dental therapists, a practice manager and 2 receptionists. The practice has 4 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 2 dentists, 2 dental nurses, 1 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:

Monday and Thursday 8am to 4:30pm

Tuesday 8am to 7pm

Wednesday 8am to 1:30pm

Friday 8am to 5pm

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

  • 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:

  • Improve the practice's protocols and procedures for the use of X-ray equipment in compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and taking into account the guidance for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment.
  • Take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry when completing dental care records.
  • Implement an effective system for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Central Alerting System and other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England.

14 August 2017

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 14 August 2017 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 provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. We did not receive any information of concern from them.

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

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Hatfield Dental Care Limited is in Doncaster and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is ramp access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes a principal dentist and an associate dentist, six dental nurses (two are trainee dental nurses), two dental hygiene therapists, a practice manager and a receptionist. The practice has three treatment rooms and two decontamination rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Hatfield Dental Care Limited was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection we collected 43 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with 13 other patients. This information gave us a very positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, two dental nurses, one dental hygiene therapist and the receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday and Thursday: 8am – 4:30pm

Tuesday: 8am – 7:30pm

Wednesday: 8am – 1:30pm

Friday: 8am – 5pm

Our key findings were:

  • The practice was clean and well maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance; we identified some minor areas which required further consideration.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available but some processes and availability of staff training could be improved.
  • The practice had systems to help them manage risk; some associated areas of risk could be improved.
  • The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures in place but these could be improved upon.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
  • The appointment system met patients’ needs.
  • The practice had a leadership structure. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
  • The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

  • Review the practice’s system for reviewing incidents or significant events with a view to preventing further occurrences and ensuring staff awareness and those improvements are made as a result.
  • Review staff training to ensure all staff are trained to manage medical emergencies taking into account guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
  • Review the practice’s sharps procedures and ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
  • Review the storage of medicines and equipment to manage medical emergencies taking into account guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
  • Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff.
  • Review the practice’s infection control procedures, protocols and audit to take into account guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and have regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’, ensure staff are aware of who is the lead person in the practice for infection control procedures.
  • Review the servicing schedule of the pressure vessel equipment used for providing care or treatment to a service user and ensure they are serviced and maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.