Verne Road Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 23 July 2019 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 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 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

Verne Road Dental Practice is in North Shields and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including two dedicated spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two principal dentists, eight associate dentists, a foundation dentist, 15 dental nurses (three of whom are trainees), a decontamination operative, a dental hygienist, a dental hygiene therapist and three receptionists. The dental team is supported by a treatment co-ordinator, a group manager and a practice manager. The practice has 10 treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 Verne Road Dental Practice is one of the principal dentists.

On the day of inspection, we collected 43 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. These provided a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with five dentists, four dental nurses, two receptionists, the decontamination operative, the treatment co-ordinator, the group manager 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 Tuesday 9am to 6pm

Wednesday Thursday 9am to 5.30pm

Friday 9am to 5pm

Saturday- by appointment.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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 apart from three items to aid breathing and dispersible aspirin for heart attacks. These were ordered the following day.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. The provider did not recognise their fixed wire safety inspection was overdue. This was arranged for the following week.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures, but needed to review their systems to obtain Disclosure and Barring Service checks for employees prior to employment.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information. The practice had closed-circuit television cameras on the premises; there was no policy or data protection impact assessment in place for its use.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team. Evidence of this, and provision for staff well-being, was obvious throughout the inspection day.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the security of NHS prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.
• Review the practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that Disclosure and Barring Service checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.