Mydentist - Church Street - Armthorpe Also known as mydentist

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 7 October 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 asked the following three questions:

• 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:

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

Mydentist - Church Street - Armthorpe is in Doncaster 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 directly outside the practice with additional on street parking.

The dental team includes six dentists, five dental nurses, a practice manager, a treatment coordinator and three receptionists. The practice has five treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company 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 Mydentist - Church Street - Armthorpe is the practice manager.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, three dental nurses, the treatment co-ordinator, the practice manager and the company regulatory officer. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday 8am to 6:30pm

Tuesday, Thurs & Fri 8am to 5:30pm

Wednesday 9am to 5:30pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had implemented standard operating procedures in line with national guidance on COVID-19.
• Improvements could be made to the instrument decontamination processes and the auditing of these; and to support the infection control lead.
• 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 had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements could be made to ensure that essential checks are carried out for agency staff.
• 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

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

• Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’. In particular, cleaning and inspecting instruments prior to sterilisation, improving processes to store instruments after sterilisation and training and support for the infection prevention and control lead.

• Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed for temporary staff prior to them working at the practice.

• Take action to ensure staff have received training in the recognition, diagnosis and early management of sepsis in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.