Gargrave Dental Practice

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 9 January 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 adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask 5 key 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 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. Improvements could be made to the process for ensuring medical emergency equipment is available and within its expiry date.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• 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 provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• 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.

Background

Gargrave Dental Practice is in Gargrave near Skipton and provides NHS and private dental care for adults and children.

The treatment room is on the first floor, disabled access is not possible, future development will provide a ground floor surgery at the practice. In the interim patients with additional mobility needs are referred to alternative practices. There is roadside parking outside the practice and local transport routes are nearby.

The dental team includes 1 dentist, 2 dental nurses, 1 receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has 1 treatment room.

During the inspection we spoke with the owner (principal dentist), the practice manager and 2 nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm and Thursday 9 am to 1 pm.

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

• Improve the practice's systems for ensuring the availability of equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK).
• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals emailed to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.