Archived: M K Vasant & Associates

We carried out this announced inspection on 31 July 2017 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.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. They did not provide any information for us to take into account.

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

M K Vasant & Associates is in Norbury and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. There are limited car parking spaces on the premises; however surrounding roads have unrestricted parking.

The dental team includes seven dentists, four dental nurses, seven dental nurses, two dental hygienists and a practice manager. The dental nurses and the practice manager all carried out reception duties. The practice has six treatment rooms.

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 32 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with four dentists, one dental nurse, three trainee dental nurses, one dental hygienist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: 8.00am to 8.00pm on Monday, 8.00am to 5.30pm Tuesday to Friday and 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturdays.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures. Some documents relating to staff recruitment were not available on the day of our inspection; however the records were updated during and shortly after the inspection.
• 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.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

We identified an area of notable practice:

The practice was proactive with health promotion. To encourage children and young people to regularly attend the dentist and look after their teeth the practice ran “Smile week” events four times a day during school holidays.

During the “smile week” they designated a room in the practice and provided fun activities and toys for children to take part in. Children and their parents could attend on a drop-in basis (without an appointment) and have a check-up and experience being in the dental chair. This was to reduce anxieties often related to visiting the dentist. The principal dentist told us they often had up to 60 children attending each day of the event and these were very popular. They had seen a rise in attendance for routine appointments as a result of these events. Goodies bags were also given out with different oral health promotion items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and stickers.