Archived: Queenborough Dental Clinic

We carried out this announced inspection on 12 February 2020 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 Care Quality Commission, (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 this practice was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Queenborough Dental Clinic is in Queenborough Sheerness and provides 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 disabled people, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes a dentist, a dental nurse, a dental hygienist, a clinical dental technician and a receptionist. The practice has one treatment room.

The practice is owned by an individual who is a clinical dental technician 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 11 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, the dental nurse, the receptionist and the clinical dental technician who is also the practice owner. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

• Monday 8.45am to 12.45pm
• Tuesday closed
• Wednesday 8.45am to 8.30pm
• Thursday 8.45am to 12.45pm
• Friday 1.30pm to 5.30pm
• Saturday by appointment only

Sunday closed

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly 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 provider had some systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. However this required some improvements.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which did not reflect current legislation.
• 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 provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had information governance arrangements which needed improvements.

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

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients by maintaining complete dental care records.

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care

• Ensure recruitment procedures are established and operated effectively to ensure only fit and proper persons are employed.

Full details of the regulation/s the provider was/is not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Improve and develop the practice's policies and procedures for obtaining patient consent to care and treatment to ensure they are in compliance with legislation, take into account relevant guidance, and staff follow them.

• Develop systems to ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment, supervision and appraisal of all staff. Including the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members at appropriate intervals.

• Introduce protocols regarding the prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.