Dental Surgery

We carried out this announced inspection on 29 August 2019 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

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

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive 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.

Background

Dental Surgery is in the centre of Oldham and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. A large pay and display car park is located opposite the practice. The practice is located on the Manchester tram and bus routes.

The dental team includes three partners who are dentists (one of which is no longer practising), three dental nurses and one receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 the Dental Surgery is one of the partners.

On the day of inspection, we collected 15 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. Patients were positive about all aspects of the service the practice provided.

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

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday 9am to 5.30pm

Friday 9am to 4.30pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and tidy. Areas of the premises were in need of remedial action to address damp.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance. Minor improvements could be made to the decontamination room.
• 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 suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures, with the exception of obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and references.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. We found the documentation of this could be improved.
• 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 appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement. Practice policies and procedures would benefit from being reviewed to remove older versions.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had systems to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice when completing dental care records.

• Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.

• Take action to implement any recommendations in the practice's fire safety risk assessment and ensure ongoing fire safety management is effective. In particular wall mounting fire extinguishers.

• Take action to ensure the suitability of the premises and ensure all areas are fit for the purpose for which they are being used. In particular, ensuring areas of damp are addressed.