St Cross Road Dental Practice

Updated 21 April 2017

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 7 March 2017. Our inspection was carried out by a lead inspector and a dental specialist adviser.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Prior to the inspection, we asked the practice to send us some information that we reviewed. This included the complaints they had received in the last 12 months, their latest statement of purpose, and the details of their staff members including proof of registration with their professional bodies.

During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and staff training and recruitment records. We spoke with three members of staff.

We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment. We were shown the decontamination procedures for dental instruments and the systems that supported the patient dental care records. We obtained the views of three patients on the day of our inspection.

Patients gave positive feedback about their experience at the practice.

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 21 April 2017

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 7 March 2017 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.

Background

St Cross Road Dental Practice is a dental practice providing NHS and private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is based in Winchester, Hampshire.

The practice has two dental treatment rooms which are based on the first floor of a grade II listed building and a separate decontamination room used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. Patients with limited mobility are sign-posted to nearby dental services with ground floor access.

The practice employs two dentists, two hygienists, one nurse and a practice manager who also covers reception.

The practice’s opening hours are between 8am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 8am to 1pm on Friday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed. This is provided by the principal dentist and an out-of-hours service, via 111.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual and is legally responsible for making sure that the practice meets the requirements relating to safety and quality of care, as specified in the regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Before the inspection, we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 26 patients. These provided a completely positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the high quality of care, the caring nature of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall high quality of customer care.

We obtained the views of three patients on the day of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by the practice owner and an empowered practice manager.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were effective and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the company.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Patient feedback before and during our inspection gave us a completely positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.

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

• Review the availability of hearing loops for patients who are hard of hearing.
• Review display of information related to staff working at the practice taking into account guidance issued by the General Dental Council.
• Review the protocols with respect to the validation of ultrasonic cleaning bath to include a weekly residual protein test.

• Review the risks in relation to fire safety and carbon monoxide so risks are fully identified and mitigated.

• Review the arrangements for the appraisal of practice staff.

• Review the procedures with respect to the recruitment of staff so that the proof of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and induction is recorded and retained in the employees recruitment file.