Background to this inspection
Updated
25 February 2016
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 registered provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
The inspection was carried out on 12 January 2016 and was led by a CQC Inspector who had access to remote advice from a specialist advisor.
We informed NHS England area team and North Yorkshire Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice; however we did not receive any information of concern from them
The methods that were used to collect information at the inspection included interviewing staff, observations and reviewing documents.
During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses and the receptionist. We saw policies, procedures and other records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with one patient on the day.
To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:
These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.
Updated
25 February 2016
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 12 January 2016 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
The Thorpe Dental Group operates Copmanthorpe Dental Centre. The service is located on St Giles Way in York, North Yorkshire. It offers mainly NHS dental treatment but also offer private options. The services include preventative advice and treatments and routine restorative dental care. The practice also offer a variety of dental care plans where patients pay a monthly subscription and receive a discount off treatment and includes an examination every six months and a hygienist visit at varying intervals.
The practice has wheelchair access. Parking is available locally.
The practice currently has three dentists (one of which is a foundation dentist) who are supported by a practice manager, a dental hygienist, three dental nurses (one of which is a trainee) and one receptionist.
One surgery is located on the ground floor and a further two surgeries are on the first floor. There is also a reception and waiting area and a decontamination room. There are accessible toilet facilities on the ground floor.
The practice opening hours are:
Monday to Friday from 09-00 to 13-00 and 14-00 to 17-00
On the day of inspection we received feedback from one patient. The patient who provided feedback was positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. They told us they were involved in all aspects of their care and were very pleased with the service. They found the staff to be professional, good communication skills, efficient and caring and they were treated with dignity and respect in a clean and tidy environment.
The practice owner is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.
Our key findings were:
- The practice was clean and hygienic.
- Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
- Infection prevention and control procedures were in accordance with the published guidelines.
- Dental care records were detailed and included information about discussions with the patient about advice given and treatment options.
- Patients’ care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current regulations.
- Patients were treated with dignity and confidentiality was maintained.
- We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
- The appointment system met patients’ needs.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Review the protocol for receiving, sharing and acknowledging alerts by e-mail from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK’s regulator of medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion, responsible for ensuring their safety, quality and effectiveness.
- Record fridge temperatures where dental materials are stored.
- Make the dental care record and X-ray audits practitioner specific.
- Review the practice’s recruitment procedure to obtain references for all new recruits.
- Undertake a practice specific infection control audit.
- Undertake an external fire risk assessment.
- Undertake a risk assessment on the door out of the decontamination room.