The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: Wickford Dental Practice

68 London Road, Wickford, Essex, SS12 0AN (01268) 761638

Provided and run by:
Inspire Dental Wickford (Dental Practice) Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

18 May 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this announced inspection on 18 May 2021 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to follow up on concerns we identified when we inspected the practice on 18 December 2020, and 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a CQC specialist dental adviser.

We undertook a focused inspection of Wickford Dental Practice on 18 December 2020 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment and Regulation 17: Good governance 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 Wickford Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

To consider the concerns we received we asked the following questions

• Is it safe?

• 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Wickford Dental Practice is in Wickford, in Essex and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available at the front .

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Wickford Dental Practice is the one of the operations managers.

The practice is open:

Mondays between 8am and 8pm.

Tuesdays to Thursdays between 8am and 6pm and between 9am and 1pm on Saturdays.

During the inspection we spoke with the business manager, the registered manager, the practice manager, dentists, dental nurses and reception staff. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our key findings were:

  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • There were systems in place to reduce the risks associated with the transmission of COVID -19.
  • The provider had systems to help them manage risks to patients and staff.
  • The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
  • The provider had effective leadership to support a culture of openness and continuous improvement.
  • There were effective governance systems to monitor the day-to-day running of the practice.

18 December 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 18 December 2020 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to follow up on concerns we received and 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a CQC specialist dental adviser.

To consider the concerns we received we asked the following questions

• Is it safe?

• 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 this practice not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Wickford Dental Practice is in Wickford, in Essex and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available at the rear of the practice.

At the time of inspection there was no registered manager in post as required as a condition of registration. A registered manager is legally responsible for the delivery of services for which the practice is registered.

During the inspection we spoke with the regional manager and two dentists. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Mondays between 8am and 8pm.

Tuesdays to Thursdays between 8am and 6pm and between 9am and 1pm on Saturdays.

Our key findings were:

  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance including guidance related to the management of COVID-19. However these were not being monitored to ensure that they were fully understood and adhered to.
  • The provider had systems to help them manage risks to patients and staff. However there were ineffective arrangements to monitor these systems and ensure that risks to patients and staff were assessed and managed.
  • The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements were needed to ensure that important checks were carried out to determine the suitability of temporary agency staff who worked at the practice.
  • The provider had ineffective leadership to support a culture of openness and continuous improvement.
  • There were ineffective governance systems to monitor the day-to-day running of the practice.

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

  • Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulations the provider is not meeting are at the end of this report.

3 January 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with four people who were using the service. All four said they were very happy with the care provided by their dentist. Two of the people said they had not visited the dentist for a number of years as they were very nervous patients. However, they said they had been put at ease by the dentist and were happy to come back to the practice.

Two other patients had been registered with the practice for a long time. They said they saw the same dentist on each occasion.

All four said that they were involved in decisions about their care, given clear information about the treatment options available to them and gave consent accordingly. All treatment prices were fully explained.

We also looked at patient satisfaction survey results, which revealed a high rate of satisfaction with the care people received at Wickford Dental Practice. We observed that staff treated people respectfully and spoke to them politely.