A W Kaczmarski Dental Surgery

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 12 June 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.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• 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.
• Staff felt involved, supported, and worked as a team.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. Improvements were required to ensure this was suitably documented in clinical records.
• Improvements were required to ensure patients were asked for feedback about the services provided and that this feedback was documented.
• Improvements were required to the practice’s information governance arrangements.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies, and life-saving equipment were available. Improvements were required to ensure all medicines were available, and records of checks maintained.
• Improvements were required to the practice systems to manage risks for patients, staff and the premises.
• Safeguarding processes were in place, however improvements were required to ensure staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Improvements were required to ensure the practice had an effective leadership, and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Background

A W Kaczmarski Dental Surgery is in Acton in the London Borough of Ealing 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 dental team includes a dentist and a dental nurse (who also covers reception duties). The practice has 1 treatment room.

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

The practice is open:

8.30am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

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

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

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:

• Take action to ensure dentists are aware of the guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment.
• Improve the security of NHS prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.
• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.