Campbell House Dental Practice

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 10 March 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 practice had staff recruitment procedures which 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.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. Improvements were required to ensure policies and protocols were up-to date and accessible to all staff.
• The dental clinic appeared clean.
• The practice had infection control procedures which broadly reflected published guidance
• The practice did not have effective systems to help them manage risks. The leadership and oversight for the day-to-day management of the service needed improvements.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Improvements were required to ensure all equipment was available and that medicines were stored in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
• There were ineffective systems to support continuous improvement.

Background

Campbell House Dental Practice is in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 5 dentists, 3 dental nurses, 1 trainee dental nurse, 1 dental hygienist, and 2 receptionists. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, an associate dentist, 1 dental nurse, the trainee dental nurse and 1 receptionist. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

Saturday 9am to 1pm

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:

• Implement an effective system for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.
• Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’.
• Improve the practice’s systems for environmental cleaning taking into account current national specifications for cleanliness in the NHS.
• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry, and also for patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.