Christopher Parte - Queen Anne Street

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 13 March 2023 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

• The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Patients feedback about the services provided was considered
• The practice did not have a complaints policy in place.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.
• Staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children although some shortfalls were identified.
• The provider did not have a recruitment policy in place. At the time of the inspection they used agency staff.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Most medicines and life-saving equipment were available; however, some items were not available on the day of the inspection, including buccal midazolam and some face masks.
• Improvements were required to the provider’s systems to identify and manage risks associated with sharps, legionella to patients and staff.
• There were insufficient assurances that equipment used by staff had been serviced in line with the manufacturers’ guidance.

Background

Christopher Part - Queen Anne Street is a dental practice in the City of Westminster and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is located on the 1st floor of the building and is accessible for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs via a lift. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes a dentist and an agency dental nurse. The practice has 1 treatment room that includes a decontamination room.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, and the dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday, Wednesday & Thursday from 8.30am to 17.30pm

We identified regulation the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.
• Take action to ensure audits of infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. Practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.