The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Mydentist - Queensway - Bognor Regis Also known as mydentist

51-53 Queensway, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 1QN

Provided and run by:
First Choice Dental Limited

All Inspections

07 December 2017

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 07 December 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 NHS England and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. They did not provide any information.

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

Mydentist, Queensway is located in Bognor Regis. It provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is on one floor. There are seven treatment rooms, a separate decontamination room and a combined reception and patient waiting area.

The dental team includes seven dentists, one dental therapist, nine dental nurses- five of whom work full time, two full time receptionists and two part time receptionists and a practice manager.

The practice is owned by a company and is registered with the Care Quality Commission as part of IDH Dental organisation. As a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 Mydentist, Queensway, Bognor Regis was the practice manager.

During the inspection we spoke two dentists, one dental therapist, three nurses, one receptionist, the practice manager and the compliance manager for the company. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

On the day of inspection we spoke with six patients and collected 14 comments cards that were completed prior to the inspection. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

The practice is open: Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 5.30pm and Friday from 8.30am to 4pm.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared 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 thorough staff recruitment procedures.
  • 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 supported.
  • The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

4 August 2015

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 4th August 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

CQC inspected the practice on 22nd January 2015 and asked the provider to make improvements regarding infection control, staffing, supporting workers, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision, complaints handling, and notification of other incidents and the management of records. We checked these areas as part of this comprehensive inspection and found they had been resolved.

First Choice Dental Ltd is a mixed dental practice providing mainly NHS and some private treatment and caters for both adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted commercial shop property. The practice had seven dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments and a reception and waiting area. These facilities were all on the ground floor enabling disabled access.

The practice has 7 dentists and 9 dental nurses. Of the dental nurses, 4 were in training. Supporting the clinical staff were a full time practice manager and 4 reception staff. The practice’s opening hours are 8:30am – 5:30pm on Mondays to Thursdays and 8:30am – 4pm on Fridays.

The Practice Manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 44 completed cards and spoke to 4 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. All of the patients commented that the quality of care was very good. Some patients commented that the dentists were respectful, treatment was explained clearly and the staff were caring and put them at ease. They also said that the reception staff were always helpful and efficient and the practice was very clean and tidy.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 4th August 2015 as part of our planned inspection of all dental practices. The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a lead inspector who was also a dental specialist adviser.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice had an empowered practice manager who provided robust leadership within the practice.
  • Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
  • The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
  • Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.
  • The practice had a dedicated safeguarding lead with effective safeguarding processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
  • Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
  • The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.
  • Staff personnel files were well organised and complete.
  • Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).
  • Staff we spoke to felt well supported by the practice manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
  • Information from 44 completed CQC comment cards gave us a mainly positive picture of a friendly, professional service.
  • All complaints were dealt with in an open and transparent way by the practice manager if a mistake had been made.
  • The practice had a rolling programme of clinical and non-clinical audit in place.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Ensure that a telephone message is provided signposting patients to urgent care dental services when the practice is closed.

22 January 2015

During an inspection in response to concerns

This was an unannounced responsive inspection due to concerns raised in relation to staffing levels and training, assessing and monitoring the quality of the service and infection control. We also checked whether the practice had taken action required to meet the required standards in cleanliness and infection control and requirements relating to workers since our last inspection visit on 20 August 2014.

During our inspection we spoke with five dentists, four receptionists, four dental nurses, and the practice manager who was the registered manager.

The prevention and control of infection and decontamination of instruments was mostly carried out in accordance with guidance from the Department of Health. However, we had concerns the guidance was not always followed. The registered manager had highlighted some areas where improvements were needed through observation of a staff member's infection control procedures.

We found appropriate checks had been made before staff commenced employment including references for each staff member. Since our last inspection, the registered manager had carried out an audit on all but two of the staff files and completed checklists which showed the files contained the required documentation.

There were not always enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs.

The practice had an online learning academy which gave staff access to training modules relevant to their roles and responsibilities. There was an induction programme and appraisal system in place. However, we had concerns there was not an adequate system in place to monitor less experienced staff to ensure compliance with essential standards of quality and safety.

The provider did not have effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service provided. There were some systems in place to identify risks to the health and safety of people who use the service. Audits were not carried out regularly in line with the provider's audit schedule. We found a process in place for recording and learning from any incidents or accidents which occurred. Comments and complaints were not used to improve the quality of service and people who use the service were not regularly asked for their views on the care and treatment they received. There were some procedures for receiving, handling and responding to some complaints within appropriate timescales. However, we found not all complaints and comments received had been responded to appropriately.

The provider did not have an effective system in place to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of incidents specified in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 which prevent or are likely to prevent the service's ability to provide safe care and treatment. The provider did not notify the CQC of the enforced practice closure in December 2014.

We found most records were appropriately and securely stored. However, we observed some records relating to patients were not kept securely.

20 August 2014

During an inspection in response to concerns

At this inspection we spoke with the manager, three dental nurses and four patients. We carried out this inspection in response to concerns being raised about recruitment and infection control practices.

We found that the practice was clean and tidy and free from clutter in clinical areas. However we found that the checks required to ensure equipment functioned correctly were not completed accurately or consistently. Observations of staff told us that appropriate infection control measures were not always followed. This placed patients at risk of infection.

The recruitment practice was not robust to ensure appropriate checks were carried out before staff started work. For example, new nursing staff had not undertaken a criminal records check via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

We spoke with four patients while we were inspecting the practice. They spoke positively about their experiences over many years of using the practice. They told us that the practice was clean and they had no concerns about the hygiene standards of the practice. Patients told us that staff were professional and knowledgeable. Their privacy and dignity was maintained at all times.

15 November 2012

During a routine inspection

We spoke with seven people who were positive about the service that they received at The Bognor Regis Dental Centre.

People told us that they received a friendly service, were kept well informed and were offered choices about their treatment.

One person said, "I have no complaints at all. I have always had a good service here".

Another person said, "The dentist I see here is very good. They always tell me what they are doing and I feel confident that they have my best interests at heart".