The Care Quality Commission has today published 25 reports on the quality of care provided by 25 dental practices in England.
The practices were inspected under CQC’s new approach to inspecting dental services which launched in April 2015.
The practices that we have reported on today are:
Practice name and Clinical Commissioning Group area
- 46 Phillin Limited, NHS North East Essex
- Altmore Dental Practice, NHS Tower Hamlets CCG
- Alverna House Dental Practice, NHS St Helens CCG
- Ashbury Dental Care, NEW Devon
- Bentley Road, NHS Doncaster
- Chadwell Heath Dental Practice, NHS Redbridge CCG
- Clifton Dental Practice , NHS Fylde and Wyre CCG
- Euxton Dental Practice , NHS Chorley and South Ribble CCG
- Harley Street Orthodontists, NHS Central London (Westminster) CCG
- Hebburn Dental Clinic, NHS South Tyneside CCG
- Longford Dental Centre – Gillingham , NHS Medway CCG
- Longford Dental Centre – Maidstone, NHS West Kent CCG
- Monkseaton Dental Practice, NHS North Tyneside CCG
- Mydentist - Lincoln Road - Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- Mydentist - Town Street - Shepton Mallet, Somerset
- Oasis Dental Care Central - Workington, NHS Cumbria CCG
- Orpington Dental Care, Bromley
- Pelaw Dental Clinic, NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG
- Rush Hill Dental Centre, Banes
- Skipton Road Dental Surgery, East Lancashire
- The Dental Practice, NHS East Lancashire CCG
- The Mary Jones Dental Practice, Bromley
- Triangle Dental, NHS South Reading CCG
- Walsall Family Dental Practice, NHS Walsall CCG
- West Dulwich Dental, Lambeth
CQC’s new approach to inspecting dental services:
CQC’s new approach to inspecting dental services uses specially trained dental inspectors, accompanied by specialist advisors who are usually qualified dentists or dental care professionals. Similarly to the other health and social care sectors inspected by CQC, dental reports describe whether services provided are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Our inspections check that practices are meeting the fundamental standards regulations that came into force on 1 April 2015.
Over the next 12 months, CQC plans to inspect 10 per cent of England’s 10,000 dental practices. Unlike most other regulated sectors, primary care dental services will not be given a rating in 2015/16.
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice (Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care Directorate), said:
"We know that the quality of care provided by most dentists is of an acceptable standard, and that is reflected in the reports we have published so far under our new approach.
"If we find that a dental practice is failing to meet the required standard - we will expect them to provide us with a full plan setting out how they will address the issue, and we will return to check that they have made the required improvements.
“However good the general picture, we cannot be complacent. In the first years of inspection, CQC did identify some examples of unacceptable standards of care. Our main priority must be to ensure that we protect the public from unsafe care by continuing to inspect against the regulations and taking action if we identify any concerns."
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