Hooker House Dental Practice

We undertook a follow up inspection of the practice on 17 February 2020. This was carried out to review in detail 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.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of the practice on 31 July 2019 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 Hooker House Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

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

The provider had made sufficient improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our previous inspection. These must now be embedded in the practice and sustained in the long-term.

Background

Hooker House Dental Surgery is a well-established practice based in Halesworth that provides both NHS and private dental treatment to approximately 10,000 patients. It is one of two owned by the provider in the local area. The dental team includes four dentists, one practice manager, four dental nurses and reception staff. There are four treatment rooms.

The practice opens on Mondays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 am to 5pm. On Tuesdays, the practice is open from 9am until 8pm.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. He has legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we spoke with the principal dentist, the practice manager and the receptionist.

We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

We carried out this announced inspection on 31 July 2019 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.

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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Hooker House Dental Surgery is a well-established practice based in Halesworth that provides both NHS and private dental treatment to approximately 10,000 patients. IT is one of two owned by the provider in the local area. The dental team includes four dentists, one practice manager, four dental nurses and reception staff. There are four treatment rooms.

The practice opens on Mondays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 5pm. On Tuesdays, the practice is open from 9am until 8pm.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. He has legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we received feedback from 16 patients. We spoke with three dentists, the practice manager and receptionist staff.

We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our key findings were:

• Information from completed Care Quality Commission comment cards gave us a positive picture of a caring and professional service.
• The practice followed national guidance for cleaning, sterilising and storing dental instruments.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs and the practice opened late one evening a week.
• Members of the dental team were up-to-date with their continuing professional development and were supported to meet the requirements of their professional registration.
• Complaints were responded to in an empathetic and professional way,
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.

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