Loughton Dental Spa

We carried out this announced inspection on 8 October 2021 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to follow up on information of concern we received and 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 CQC specialist dental advisor.

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 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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Loughton Dental Spa is in Essex and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They 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 practice consists of the principal dentist and two dental nurses who work on a part time basis. The clinical team are supported by a receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, two dental nurses, and the receptionist.

The practice is open between 9am to 1 pm and 2pm to 5pm Mondays to Fridays.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• There were arrangements to manage risks of COVID-19 virus in accordance with current guidelines.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available, and staff undertook training in basic life support.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance. Improvements were needed to ensure these procedures were followed and monitored appropriately.
• Improvements were needed to the systems to manage risk to patients and staff.
• There was a lack of effective leadership to support a culture of continuous improvement.

We identified regulations 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

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 system for identifying, disposing and replenishing of out-of-date stock.

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