Dr Richard Pereira - Herne Hill

We carried out this announced inspection on the 29 September 2021 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 provider 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 usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found this practice was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Dr Richard Pereira - Herne Hill is in Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth Southwark and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is located on the ground floor of an adapted residential property. The practice has two treatment rooms. There is step-free access to the practice. Parking is available at the practice and is also located close to public transport services.

The dental team includes five dentists, one specialist in endodontics, one dental nurse, two trainee dental nurses, one dental nurse/receptionist and one receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists and one dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8.15 am to 6.15 pm

Saturdays (alternate) from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• Improvements were needed to the Information Governance Policy to take into account the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements.
• No fire detection equipment was available at the practice. In addition no fire drills had been carried out.
• The equipment and medicines needed for dealing with medical emergencies were not available in accordance with current guidance.
• Improvements were needed to the systems to help the provider manage risks to patients and staff.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. However, improvements were needed to ensure important checks were carried out at the time of recruitment.
• The dental nurses carried out ‘highly recommended’ training as per the General Dental Council professional standards. Improvements were needed to the provider’s monitoring system to enable them to assure themselves that training was up-to-date and undertaken at the required intervals by the clinicians.

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.
• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.

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

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

• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.
• Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.