The Dental Centre

We carried out this announced inspection on 2 November 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 service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

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

Are services caring?

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

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The Dental Centre is in Blackpool and provides urgent unscheduled dental care to adults and children. They also provide domiciliary visits to patients who cannot access a dental clinic due to medical, physical or social reasons.

The service operates out of a health centre where there is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The health centre has a dedicated car park including spaces for blue badge holders.

The team includes 16 sessional dentists, nine dental nurses, 11 receptionists, an operation support worker, an administrator and a dental service lead. The service has access to three treatment rooms.

The service is owned by a company and 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 service is run. The registered manager at The Dental Centre is the dental service lead.

On the day of inspection, we collected 34 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses, two receptionists the dental service lead and members of the management team. We looked at policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The service operates:

Monday to Friday from 5:30pm to 9:00pm

Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm

Sunday from 10:00am to 3:00pm

Our key findings were:

• The service 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 provider 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.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Improve the services system for seeking assurance from the landlord about the risks associated with Legionella.
• Take action to ensure audits of infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals.