Warwick Square Dental Practice

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 18 October 2022 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 adviser.

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 was visibly clean and well-maintained.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The dental clinic had information governance arrangements.
• Improvements were needed to the systems used to help the provider manage risks to patients and staff.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. However, improvements could be made to ensure all important checks were carried out at the time of recruitment.
• Improvements were needed to the auditing protocols to drive continuous improvement.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Most appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. Improvements could be made to the monitoring protocol to ensure all equipment was available.

Background

Warwick Square Dental Practice is in Carlisle in Cumbria and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is located on the ground floor of a converted terraced property. Car parking spaces are available in the surrounding streets and the practice is located close to local transport routes. The practice has made some adjustments to support patients with additional needs. For example, the availability of a magnifying glass and information available in large print.

The dental team includes 2 dentists, 2 dental nurses, 1 trainee dental nurse and 1 receptionist. The practice manager is one of the dentists. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the 2 dentists, 2 dental nurses 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 Wednesday from 9am to 5pm

Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30am to 5pm

Friday from 9am to 3pm

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:

• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.
• Re-introduce protocols regarding auditing of dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.
• Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice. Take action to ensure that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.