Updated 5 July 2016
Lichfield Family Dental Surgery is an independent dental practice providing private treatment for adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted house in a residential area of Lichfield. The practice has two dental treatment rooms located on the ground floor of the building and a decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments is on the first floor. Patients' dental treatment and care is provided on the ground floor and the reception and waiting area are located on this floor. There are two entrances to the practice. Both entrances provide level access and are suitable for patients with mobility difficulties and families with prams and pushchairs.
The practice is open Monday from 9am to 8pm, Wednesday and Friday 9am to 5.30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm. The practice has two dentists who are supported by five dental nurses and a receptionist. One of the dental nurses is a trainee in the process of completing their training to become a qualified dental nurse. One of the dentists is the principal dentist and owner of the practice, the second dentist is an associate dentist.
The principal dentist is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons 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 is supported by the receptionist.
As part of our inspection we also asked for Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection. We received 30 comment cards which were all positive. Patients said they received good care from the practice; staff were professional, very helpful and caring. They told us that the dentists made sure they understood what the treatment involved, made them feel at ease and listened to their concerns.
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
The inspection took place on 17 March 2016. It was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a dental specialist advisor. Before visiting, we reviewed a range of information that we held about the practice. During the inspection, we spoke with the dentists, dental nurses, reception staff, spoke with patients who used the service and reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We received 30 comment cards which were all positive. Patients we spoke with said they received good care, staff were very helpful, dentists listened and any proposed treatment and care was explained and shared with 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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.
Our key findings were:
- The practice was focussed on providing good oral health care and treatment to patients.
- The practice was visibly clean and clutter free.
- Patients commented that they were listened to and their proposed treatment was explained to them in a way they understood.
- The practice asked patients for feedback on the services they received.
- Staff reported and recorded incidents and this information was used for shared learning.
- Staff had been trained to handle emergencies.
- Patients found it easy to make an appointment and had information available to them on how to make an appointment in an emergency.
- The practice had enough staff to meet patients dental health needs.
- Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continuing professional development (CPD) by the practice principal dentist.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to meet the needs of patients.
- The principal dentist provided effective clinical and business leadership at the practice.
- Patients had access to information on how to complain.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Review the storage of dental care products requiring refrigeration to ensure they are stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.