Archived: Park House Dental Practice

Updated 7 January 2016

We carried out an announced inspection on 3 December 2015. This inspection was carried out by a CQC Inspector who had access to remote advice from a specialist advisor.

We informed the local NHS England area team that we were inspecting the practice; however we did not receive any information of concern from them.

The practice sent us their statement of purpose, a summary of complaints they had received in the last 12 months and details of staff working at the practice. During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and staff records. We spoke with six members of staff, including the practice manager and principal dentist. We toured the practice and reviewed emergency medicines and equipment. We observed interactions between staff and patients in the waiting area.

We reviewed 15 completed CQC comment cards sent to the practice two weeks prior to the inspection and we looked at comments posted on the NHS Choices website. Patient’s feedback about their experience at the practice was overwhelmingly positive.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 7 January 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 3 December 2015 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

Park House Dental Practice is situated in Accrington providing dental care and treatment to approximately 14.700 patients. The practice provides a wide range of treatments for predominantly NHS (95%) patients with a smaller amount (5%) of patients attending for private dental care. There is easy access from surrounding areas by public transport links. Parking is available on the road opposite the practice and in surrounding side roads. There is a principal dentist and four associate dentists working at this location and the four treatment rooms are at ground floor level.

The practice manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

We received feedback from 15 patients and all of the feedback was very positive. Patients’ commented about the politeness, professionalism and friendliness of the staff and the cleanliness of the practice.

Our key findings were:

• There were appropriate infection control procedures in place to minimise the risk and spread of infection.
• Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice guidance for example from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• There was appropriate equipment available for staff to undertake their duties and the equipment was well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment and access to emergency drugs to enable the practice to respond to medical emergencies. This included an automated external defibrillator. An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation. The application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm. Staff knew where equipment was stored and had been trained to respond to medical emergencies.
• All clinical staff were up to date with their continuing professional development.
• Staff were knowledgeable about patient confidentiality and we observed good interaction between staff and patients during the inspection.
• The provider had emergency medicines in line with the British National Formulary (BNF) guidance for medical emergencies in dental practice.
• The practice had a clear vision for the services it provided and staff told us they were well supported by the management team.
• Equipment, such as the autoclave (steriliser), fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and X-ray equipment had all been checked for effectiveness and had been regularly serviced.
• The practice had a system in place to record and analyse significant events, safety issues and complaints and to cascade learning to staff.