The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

The Chequers Dental Practice

18 Endless Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1DP (01722) 329959

Provided and run by:
A Giaziri Ltd

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

1 July 2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 1 July 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 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

The Chequers Dental Practice is in Salisbury, Wiltshire and provides private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access via ramps for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes four dentists, one endodontist, one periodontist, one orthodontist, five dental nurses, two dental hygienists, three dental hygiene therapists, the practice manager and two receptionists. The practice has four treatment rooms.

The practice 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 practice is run. The registered manager at The Chequers Dental Practice is the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we collected 54 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and obtained the views of six other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, two associate dentists, three dental nurses, two receptionists and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday-Friday 09:00-17:30

Saturday 09:00-13:00

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared clean.
  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • 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.
  • Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
  • Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
  • The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
  • The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.
  • Not all staff had completed training on Basic Life Support annually.
  • The practice did not fully follow its staff recruitment procedures.

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

  • Review the practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
  • Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
  • Review the practice's systems for checking and monitoring equipment taking into account relevant guidance and ensure that all equipment is well maintained. In particular, the air conditioning units.
  • Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members at appropriate intervals and ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment, supervision and appraisal of all staff.

13 October 2015

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 October 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Background

The Chequers Dental Practice is located near the city centre of Salisbury and provides mostly private dental treatments with approximately 10% of patients receiving NHS treatments. The demographics of the practice were mixed, serving patients from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds. The practice is open Monday to Saturday with a range of opening times including evening appointments. The practice facilities include three consultation rooms, reception and waiting area, decontamination room, X ray room, staff room and administration office. The premises are wheelchair accessible and have facilities for wheelchair users, except for an accessible toilet.

Services offered

  • Preventive advice and treatment
  • Routine and restorative dental care
  • Root canal treatment
  • Dental hygiene
  • Surgical treatment
  • Crown and bridgework
  • Implants
  • Restorative dentistry

  • Orthodontic treatments

  • The Chequers is the only practice in Salisbury to have a Cone-Beam CT scanner as 3D imaging is becoming increasingly important in diagnosis and treatment planning within implant dentistry, endodontic and orthodontics.

We received 46 completed Care Quality Commission comment cards and spoke with two patients during our inspection. Patient feedback was positive about the service. They told us staff were efficient, friendly and polite and always treated them with respect. They described the service as professional and working to an excellent standard. Information was given to them appropriately and staff were helpful to assist if needed.

The principal dentist 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.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice carried out oral health assessments and planned treatment in line with current best practice guidance, for example from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP). Patient dental care records were detailed and showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.
  • There were systems in place to help ensure the safety of staff and patients. These included safeguarding children and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control and responding to medical emergencies.
  • Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development; had undertaken training appropriate to their roles and told us they felt well supported to carry out their work.
  • Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them. We reviewed 46 CQC comment cards completed by patients. Common themes were patients felt they received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful and professional practice team.
  • The practice had an efficient appointment system in place to respond to patients needs. Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.
  • The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management processes in place; including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
  • The practice had a comprehensive system to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through a detailed programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.
  • The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team with clear means of sharing information with staff.

2 February 2015

During an inspection looking at part of the service

This inspection was undertaken to follow up on the serious concerns we identified at the last inspection on 14 January 2015. This led to the suspension of treatment at the service for 11 working days. At this inspection we found the provider had made significant improvements to the service and we lifted the suspension of service. We found the practice had met the minimum standards for safe provision of care and treatment to patients.

At this inspection we were accompanied by a specialist dental adviser. The practice had made good progress to address the concerns raised at the last inspection and had implemented most of the action plan supplied by the provider. The evidence gathered during this inspection demonstrated staff had a greater understanding of the principles and practices required to meet the regulations for the safety and well-being of patients.

During this inspection the provider demonstrated action had been taken to address the risks of unsafe care and treatment at this practice. We were told and saw the use of conscious sedation had been suspended to enable nursing staff to gain the skills and experience required to offer this service.

We saw the environmental risks and hazards had been addressed through refurbishment where necessary. We were told staff had received further training about the national guidance and standards for cleanliness and infection control. Staff spoken with demonstrated a greater awareness of this guidance and had taken steps to implement it. We saw they maintained the required records and had appropriate management and storage for dental instruments and clinical waste, which was handled in line with national guidance.

We saw the provider had taken some steps towards implementing systems to monitor the quality and safety of the practice for the well-being of patients. However we noted the provider was still working towards full implementation of systems to monitor safe practice for the well-being of patients. They told us they was being supported in this by an external company.

14 January 2015

During an inspection in response to concerns

This inspection was undertaken following information of concern received from the General Dental Council about the quality and safety of care at this practice.

On the day of our visit we spoke with four patients who were complimentary about the practice. All felt they were treated with respect and dignity. All four patients told us they were informed about the treatment alternatives and possible outcomes of the treatment.

The practice had no disabled access and there were limited arrangements in place to communicate with patients whose first language was not English.

We spoke with five members of staff about the running of the practice and the support they received from management.

During the inspection we found there were risks of unsafe care and treatment.

We saw there were risks of harm to health and well-being through inappropriate sedation treatment and the unsafe management of medicines.

We observed the decontamination processes and storage of instruments and saw there was a risk of acquiring a healthcare associated infection because the practice did not have effective systems in place to prevent and control infections.

We looked at records and asked staff about how the quality of the service was monitored. We found there were few systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the practice for the well-being of patients.