Willesden Dental Clinic

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 12 September 2022 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 adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 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:

• The dental clinic was visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement. Improvements were needed to ensure infection control audits were carried out bi-annually in line with the current guidance.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided. Improvements were needed to ensure that all patients, including those without access to internet, had the opportunity to provide feedback about their care.

Background

Willesden Dental Clinic is in Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice does not have an accessible patient toilet and they have systems in place to ensure patients are informed of this ahead of their appointment.

The dental team includes 6 dentists, 6 qualified dental nurses, 1 dental hygienist and 2 receptionists. They are supported by a practice manager. The practice has 4 treatment rooms, a X-ray room, a recovery room and a separate decontamination room.

During the inspection we spoke with 1 dentist, 2 dental nurses, 1 receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm.

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

• Take action to ensure audits of infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Implement processes and systems for seeking and learning from patient feedback with a view to monitoring and improving the quality of the service.
• Ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor the use of NHS prescription pads.
• Improve and develop the practice's current performance review systems and have an effective process established for the on-going assessment of all staff.