Gloucester Dental Care

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 16 October 2023 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 two specialist dental advisors.

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 practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance, but improvements were needed.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation, but improvements were needed.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Improvement was needed to ensure staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment, and the premises but improvements were needed to ensure processes were effective.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• There was effective a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved, supported, and worked as a team.
• Patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.

Background

Gloucester Dental Care is in Gloucester and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access, via a lift, to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 12 dentists, 3 dental nurses, 3 student dental nurses, 3 cover nurses, 1 dental hygienist, 2 decontamination nurses, a practice manager and 4 receptionists.

The practice has 8 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 5 dentists, 2 dental nurses, 1 receptionist and the practice manager. Two external management consultants supported the practice manager during our visit.

We looked at practice policies, procedures, and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

• 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday - Saturday

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 an effective system for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.
  
• Take action to ensure that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.