Archived: The Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 11 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 providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The Dental Practice is in Cheetham Hill, Manchester and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access to the ground floor reception and treatment rooms for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. On street parking is available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, five dental nurses (one of which manages the practice and one is a trainee), a dental hygiene therapist and a receptionist. The practice has three treatment rooms. The practice occasionally provides dental care in domiciliary settings such as care homes or in people’s own residence.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have 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 collected 26 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. Patients were positive about the practice.

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

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm

Friday 9am to 4pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them identify and manage risk to patients and staff. Fire safety risks could be better assessed.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures except for disclosure and barring service checks.
• 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had systems to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the fire safety risk assessment to ensure that any actions required are complete and ongoing fire safety management is effective.

• Review the practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice. In particular, DBS checks and evidence of a completed induction.

• Review the practice’s system for recording, investigating and reviewing incidents or significant events with a view to preventing further occurrences and ensuring that improvements are made as a result.

• Review the practice’s arrangements 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.