Jerry Kwok Dental Surgery

We carried out this announced inspection on 7 February 2022 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 Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment,

we usually ask five key questions; however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

Background

Jerry Kwok Dental Practice is in Chislehurst, the London Borough of Bromley and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists and one dental nurse. The practice has one treatment room.

During the inspection we spoke with a dentist and a dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday 9.30am to 4pm.

Tuesday and Wednesday 2.30pm to 5pm.

Friday 9am to 4pm.

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Most medicines and life-saving equipment were available. However, there was some room for improvement.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. However, improvements were required in regard to the employment checks undertaken.
• 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement. There was scope to improve elements of the audit processes.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

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

• Take action to ensure a disability access audit is undertaken and that audits of infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service.

• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.

• Take action to ensure the availability of equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the British National Formulary and the General Dental Council.

• Take action to ensure the service takes into account the needs of patients with disabilities and to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.