Divine Dental Care Ltd

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 18 July 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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 dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which mostly reflected current legislation.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Most emergency medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had limited systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. There were shortfalls in the assessment and mitigation of risks in relation to management of medical emergencies, fire, Legionella, medicines management and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

Background

Divine Dental Care Ltd is in St Albans and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is a small step into the practice with a portable ramp for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes the principal dentist and 2 associate dentists, 1 dental nurse, and 2 dental hygienists. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5.30pm

Friday from 8am to 2pm.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Improve the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff. In particular, satisfactory evidence of conduct in previous employment (references).

• Take action to ensure audits of record keeping, antimicrobial prescribing and infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. Practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.