West Square Dental Practice

Updated 29 August 2017

West Square Dental Practice is in Maldon and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is a portable ramp for access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including for patients with disabled badges, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, three dental nurses, one dental hygienist and one receptionist/practice manager. The practice partners told us they were in the process of refurbishing the premises and had recently refurbished two ground floor treatment rooms and the decontamination room. There were three treatment rooms, two on the ground floor.

The practice is owned by a partnership 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 practice is run. The registered manager at West Square Dental Practice was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection we collected 37 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with five other patients. We also received seven positive CQC share your experience notifications. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, three dental nurses and the receptionist/practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Thursday 8:30 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5:30 pm and Friday 8:30 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 4 pm.

Updated 29 August 2017

We carried out this announced inspection on 8 August 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.

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.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was mostly clean and well maintained. We found there was scope to improve the environmental cleaning of the carpets.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Patients provided positive feedback about the service and the staff.
• 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. Patients reported they could get appointments when they needed them.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team. We saw that staff appraisals were a new process to the practice and were being introduced as an annual review.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice valued patient feedback and had a process to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

• Review the practice’s systems in place for environmental cleaning taking into account current national guidelines.
• Review the current performance review systems in place and have an effective process established for the on-going assessment and supervision of all staff.
• Review its responsibilities to the needs of people with a disability, including those with hearing difficulties and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.