Caterham Dental Care

Updated 23 April 2015

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 practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

The inspection was carried out on 30th January 2015 by a CQC inspector. We reviewed information received from the provider prior to the inspection. On the day of our inspection we looked at practice policies and protocols, clinical patient records and other records relating to the management of the service. We spoke to practice owner who was also the provider; another dentist, the dental hygienist, two dental nurses, the practice manager and the receptionist. We also reviewed 13 comments cards completed by patients.

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?

This informed our view of the care provided and the management of the practice.

Updated 23 April 2015

Caterham Dental Care is a general dental practice in Caterham offering both NHS and private treatment. The practice treats adults and children.

The premises (which had recently undergone expansion and development) consist of a separate waiting area adjacent to the reception area and four treatment rooms. There is also a separate decontamination room

The staff structure of the practice consists of the provider (a dentist), three further dentists, a practice manager (who is also a qualified dentist), a receptionist and three dental nurses. The practice has the services of a part time dental hygienist who carries out preventative advice and treatment.

Our key findings were:

• There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. We found all treatment rooms and equipment appeared very clean.

• There were systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced regularly, including the suction compressor, autoclave, fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and the X-ray equipment.

• We found the dentists regularly assessed each patient’s gum health and took X-rays at appropriate intervals.

• The practice had a comprehensive training programme which ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.

• The practice kept up to date with current guidelines and research and was led by a proactive and forward thinking management team.

• At our visit we observed staff were kind, caring, competent and put patients at their ease.

• We spoke with one patient on the day of our inspection and reviewed 13 comment cards that had been completed by patients. Common themes were patients felt they were listened to and received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful and patient practice team.