Smile Solutions Ltd

We carried out this announced inspection on 25 November 2021 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 usually ask five key questions. However, due to the ongoing 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 are three of the five questions that 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 well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Smile Solutions Ltd is located in the London Borough of Camden and provides wholly private dental treatment to patients of all ages. They provide; general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and specialist dental treatment to adults and children. The practice is easily accessible by Transport for London underground and local bus services.

Paid parking spaces near the practice were suspended on the day of inspection.

The practice is owned by a company- Smile Solutions Ltd 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 Smile Solutions Ltd is one of the owners. They are registered to provide the regulated activities of treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and diagnostic and screening procedures from one location.

The dental team includes three dentists, one specialist orthodontist, one prosthodontist, visiting sedation specialist, one lead nurse, three trainee dental nurses and two receptionists. They are supported by a business manager (one of the owners) and a practice manager who is also a qualified and registered dental nurse. The practice has two functional treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the owner- who is a qualified dentist, but no longer undertakes clinical duties, one associate dentist, one trainee dental nurse 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 and Saturday 10am to 3pm. Outside of these hours, patients are advised to contact them using the out of hours number.

Our key findings were:

• 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 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.
• The provider offered specialist treatment to patients including conscious sedation.
• 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

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

• Take action to ensure policies and procedures are bespoke to the practice.