Church Street Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 19 June 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

Church Street Dental Practice is in Purton, Swindon, and provides private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including two for blue badge holders, are available at the practice.

The dental team includes the principal dentist, a dental nurse, the practice manager who is also a registered dental nurse and a receptionist. The practice has one treatment room.

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 34 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and obtained the views of four other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, the dental nurse, the practice manager and the receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday - Wednesday 8.25am-12.30 and 1.30-6pm

Thursday 1.30pm-6pm

Friday 8.25am-2pm

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 practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

• Review the practice's Legionella risk assessment and implement any recommended actions, taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’.
• Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of radiography and infection prevention and control have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for ensuring good governance and leadership are sustained in the longer term.