Archived: Crowstone Dental Centre Westcliff

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 3 October 2016 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

The practice is located within a purpose adapted residential property in Westcliff on Sea, Essex and offers a range of NHS and private preventative, restorative and cosmetic dental treatments to adult patients and children.

The practice is open and offers appointments for patients between 8am and 5pm on Mondays Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and between 8am and 8pm on Tuesdays.

The practice employs 12 dentists, 16 qualified dental nurses, two trainee dental nurses, two receptionists and a practice manager. Two dental hygienists provided services at the practice

The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an organisation. The practice manager is the registered manager. 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.

The practice has 11 treatment rooms, two waiting rooms and a reception area. Decontamination takes place in a dedicated decontamination room (Decontamination is the process by which dirty and contaminated instruments are bought from the treatment room, washed, inspected, sterilised and sealed in pouches ready for use again).

We received feedback from 26 patients who completed CQC comment cards prior to our inspection visit. We also spoke with six patients during our inspection visit. Patients made positive comments about the cleanliness of the premises, the empathy and responsiveness of staff, and the quality of treatment provided. Patients told us that staff explained treatment plans to them well. Patients reported that the practice had seen them on the same day for emergency treatment.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems in place for investigating and learning from complaints, safety incidents and accidents. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to report incidents.
• The practice was visibly clean and clutter free. Infection control practices were reviewed and audited to test their effectiveness.
• There were systems in place to help keep people safe, including safeguarding vulnerable children and adults. There were systems for assessing risks to the health, safety and welfare of patients and staff.
• There were systems in place to assess, monitor and minimise infection control risks, including the safe handling and storage of clinical waste. However we found that clinical waste was stored in unlocked bins.
• The practice had the recommended medicines and equipment for use in the event of a medical emergency. Records were maintained in respect of the checks carried out for these medicines and equipment.
• Staff undertook training in respect of their roles and responsibilities within the practice.
• Patients reported that they were treated with respect and that staff were polite and helpful.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their care and treatments.
• The practice could normally arrange a routine appointment within a few days or emergency appointments mostly on the same day.
• Effective governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the service.
• Audits and reviews were carried out to monitor and improve services,
• Patient’s views were sought and these were used to make improvements to the service where these were identified.

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

• Review the practice’s waste handling policy and procedure to ensure waste is stored safely in accordance with relevant regulations giving due regard to guidance issued in the Health Technical Memorandum 07-01 (HTM 07-01).