Century Dental Clinic

Updated 30 July 2015

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 17 June 2015. The inspection took place over one day. The inspection was led by a CQC inspector. They were accompanied by a dentist specialist advisor.

We reviewed information received from the provider prior to the inspection. This included the practice’s Statement of Purpose and complaints received over the previous 12 months.

During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents, staff records and dental care records. We spoke with three members of staff, which included the principal dentist, lead dental nurse and practice manager. We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment. We observed a dental nurse carrying out decontamination procedures of dental instruments and also observed staff interacting with patients in the waiting area.

Twenty six people provided feedback about the service. Patients we spoke with and those who completed CQC comment cards were very positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

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 30 July 2015

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 17 June 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.

Century Dental Clinic is located in Putney, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The premises are purpose built located on the ground floor only. The practice consists of four treatment rooms and two separate decontamination rooms. There are also toilet facilities, a waiting room and a reception and administrative area.

The practice provides private dental services only and treats both adults and children. The practice offers a range of dental services including routine examinations and treatment, veneers, crowns, bridges, tooth whitening, orthodontics, implants, dentures and oral hygiene.

The staff structure of the practice is comprised of a director (who is the principal dentist), five associate dentists, a self-employed dentist, three dental nurses, three dental hygienists who are self-employed, a practice manager and one receptionist.

The practice is open Monday 1pm-8pm, Tuesday 9am-6pm, Wednesday and Thursday 8.30am-5.30pm, Friday 8.30am-2.30pm and Saturday 9am-1pm.

The practice manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Twenty six people provided feedback about the service. Patients we spoke with, and those who completed CQC comment cards, were very positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had good decontamination procedures for dental equipment and thorough checks of the decontamination equipment were carried out.

• The practice routinely completed a range of risk assessments to identify health and safety risks and provided regular checks and servicing for most equipment.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with best practice guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.

• Patients were very positive about their care; they felt listened to, involved in their care and found practice staff helpful and friendly.

• From reviewing comments cards and speaking to patients, all patients felt they received an excellent and efficient service.

• The practice provided a responsive service; patients were able to access emergency appointments on the day they needed them.

• The practice had a stable leadership structure and staff told us they were well supported by the management team.

• We found that the governance arrangements including management of some risks and learning and improving from incidents and accidents were not assured.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review availability of medicines and equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
• Ensure that all staff have access to timely mandatory training updates including basic life support.
• Establish an effective system to assess, monitor and mitigate the risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of patients, staff and visitors.
• Seek and act on information to assist in improving the quality of the service including gathering patient feedback.