Updated 20 March 2020
We carried out this announced inspection on 29 January 2020 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 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 form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was 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 caring?
We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services responsive?
We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
Anstey Family Dental Centre is based in a large village in the north west of Leicestershire. It provides mostly NHS and some private dental care and treatment for adults and children. Services include general dentistry.
There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. There are no car parking facilities; free parking is available in a car park within close distance of the practice. This includes parking for blue badge holders.
The dental team includes four dentists, two dental nurses, three trainee dental nurses, and three receptionists and a practice manager who is a qualified dental nurse. The practice has four treatment rooms, one on the ground floor.
The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Anstey Family Dental Centre is one of the partners.
On the day of inspection, we collected 10 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.
During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, two dental nurses who also worked as receptionists, a trainee dental nurse, a practice support officer and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures, patient feedback and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open: Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm.
Our key findings were:
- The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
- The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. The kit was held in a locked cupboard on the day of our visit, but this was moved to an unlocked room after our inspection.
- The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
- The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. We were sent further supporting evidence after the inspection day.
- The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. We noted that a reference had not been obtained for one member of staff.
- The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. We noted an exception in relation to dentist’s awareness of the new classification system from the British Society of Periodontology regarding gum disease. We were provided with evidence of staff completion of training following the inspection.
- The practice was participating in the ‘Dental Check by One’ (DCby1) campaign. Their aim was to see more young children as their teeth come through, and before their first birthday.
- Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
- The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
- There was leadership and a culture of continuous improvement. There was scope to improve systems at operational level to ensure all information was accessible to staff when required.
- Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
- The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
- The provider had systems to deal with complaints.
- The provider had information governance arrangements.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice’s arrangements for ensuring good governance and leadership are sustained in the longer term. In particular, that documentation required to ensure the smooth running of the service is available to staff at an operational level.