The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Mydentist - Commercial Street - Hereford Also known as mydentist

8 Commercial Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2DB (01432) 359126

Provided and run by:
IDH Limited

All Inspections

18 July 2016

During an inspection looking at part of the service

During our comprehensive inspection of this practice on 18 December 2014 we found a breach of legal requirements in relation to the Health and Social Care Act 2008. After this comprehensive inspection, the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to Regulation 10, Governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check that the practice met the legal requirement. This report only covers our findings in relation to this requirement. You can read the report from our previous comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Mydentist -Commercial Street–Hereford on our website at www.cqc.org.uk .

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe 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

Key findings

  • Overall we found that sufficient action had been taken to address the shortfalls identified at our previous inspection and the provider was now compliant with the regulations.

18 December 2014

During a routine inspection

IDH is a national company which operates 600 dental practices across the United Kingdom. The Hereford practice is in the city centre. The practice team includes three dentists, a private dental hygienist, four dental nurses and a reception team. The practice manager is full time but is also responsible for two other practices.

IDH Hereford is located on the first and second floors above a row of shops in Hereford city centre. The practice provides mainly NHS dental treatment although private dental care is available on request.

There is no lift and therefore access is difficult for patients with mobility difficulties and families with babies and small children. No parking is provided although there are a number of city centre car parks nearby.

Before the inspection we sent comment cards to the practice for patients to complete. Sixteen patients had filled one in. Overall these patients were positive about the practice and described the staff team as professional, polite, helpful and pleasant. Patients commented that they were pleased with their care.

There were comprehensive policies and procedures at the practice for staff recruitment and for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The practice had the equipment and medicines they would need in the event of a medical emergency at the practice and staff were trained so they would know how to respond. Generally the practice had effective arrangements to ensure patients received appropriate care and treatment. Staff working at the practice had the appropriate skills and knowledge for their roles.

We found some issues at the practice where improvements were needed. These were straightforward to address and we considered that IDH should have identified and addresses these through their own quality monitoring processes.

However, there were areas where the provider needs to make improvements

Importantly, the provider must:

  • Ensure that they have effective arrangements for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service at the practice.

There were also areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Improve their processes for sharing information with staff about clinical updates, safety alerts, audits, complaints and significant events.
  • Improve arrangements to ensure effective operation of systems to prevent, detect and control the spread of healthcare associated infections.
  • Explore options for improving waiting areas for patients.
  • Consider developing a business continuity plan.
  • Implement the use of rubber dams for endodontic (root canal) treatment.
  • Ensure that all dentists and dental nurses are familiar with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its relevance to the dental team.
  • Improve the recording of complaints to provide a clear audit trail of the action taken and the learning arising from this.
  • Consider the impact on the division of the registered manager’s time between three practices on the leadership and management of the practice.

22 August 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

When we inspected the service in February 2013 we found that there were no systems for monitoring the quality of the service or for identifying and taking action to minimise any risks to people who used the service or to staff. The provider sent us an action plan following the inspection. The action plan showed that they were taking suitable action. We did this inspection to check that the service had made the necessary improvements. During the inspection we dealt with a member of the provider's compliance team and with the new practice manager who had started work at the practice after our previous inspection.

At this inspection we found that significant progress had been made. The provider's action plan was substantially completed. We learned that information may have been available at the time to reduce some of the concerns we identified previously. The compliance manager recognised that this showed that the provider's systems were not effective at the practice at that time.

At this inspection we found that there were systems in place to check people's experiences of being a patient at the practice. There were also systems to help ensure a safe environment where people would receive an effective and caring service.

Whilst we did not speak with people who used the service as part of this inspection we saw results of a recent patient survey. These showed high levels of satisfaction with the service.

6 February 2013

During a routine inspection

The practice was friendly and people we spoke with said it was a, 'pleasant' place and that the staff, 'bent over backwards' to be helpful. One person told us, "I'd give it 1000 if I had to score it'.

People's treatment was planned and discussed with them and based on their assessed needs. People told us they were given information about their treatment and the cost of this. There was equipment available for medical emergencies and staff were trained to know what to do if a person became unwell at the practice.

The practice was clean when we visited and people we spoke to confirmed that this was their experience too. We saw that there were suitable arrangements for the cleaning, sterilising and storing of instruments. Staff were able to describe these procedures to us confidently.

The dentists and dental nurses were qualified and maintained their continuous professional development (CPD) as required by the General Dental Council (GDC).

We saw evidence that the manager had responded constructively to the only recent complaint received. People we spoke with said they would feel able to raise concerns if they had any.

There was limited evidence available to show that there was management oversight and leadership by the provider. The manager told us they had recently asked for support with auditing dental records. They had also asked for support to monitor and risk assess health and safety arrangements.