Endell Street Dental Care

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 23 March 2023 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 practice 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

• The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which broadly reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Most appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises. We found shortfalls in assessing and mitigating risks in relation to substances hazardous to health and medicines management.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Improvements were required the record keeping of dental care records.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy, however, improvements were needed in relation to the storage of non-digitised personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.
• Governance arrangements in some parts were ineffective.
• Patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.

Background

This report is about Endell Street Dental Care.

Endell Street Dental Care is in Covent Garden in the London Borough of Camden and provides private dental care and treatment mainly to adult patients and a small proportion of children.

There is step free access at the entrance of the practice into the reception area. However, the clinical room is located on the first floor, so the service is not suitable for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are limited; however, the practice is within easy reach of London Underground trains and local buses.

The dental team includes the principal dentist and a trainee dental nurse who also undertakes reception duties. The practice has 2 treatment rooms, however, only the treatment room on the first floor was occupied by the provider. The other treatment room was in the basement and leased to an acupuncturist.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and the trainee dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed. We also spoke to the landlord who told us they held full responsibility for the maintenance of the premises.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5:30pm.

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

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

Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Implement an effective system for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.

• Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.