Chorleywood Dental Practice

Updated 15 August 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 28 June 2016. The inspection team consisted of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Before the inspection we asked the practice for information to be sent, this included the complaints the practice had received in the last 12 months; their latest statement of purpose; the details of the staff members, their qualifications and proof of registration with their professional bodies.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, the associate dentist, a dental nurse and a receptionist. We reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We received feedback from 12 patients about the dental service.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 15 August 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 28 June 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Chorleywood dental practice is a general dental practice situated in a converted house in the town of Chorleywood in Hertfordshire. They provide treatment for adults and children either through the NHS or funded privately.

CQC inspected the practice on 15 December 2014 and asked the provider to make improvements regarding cleanliness and infection control. We checked these areas as part of this comprehensive inspection and found this had been resolved.

The practice is open from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 8.30 am to 6 pm on a Tuesday.

For advice or treatment outside normal working hours patients are directed by an answerphone message to contact the principal dentist directly on his mobile phone, or to contact the NHS 111 service.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

We received feedback from patients who use the practice in the form of comment cards that were made available at the practice before our inspection. 12 patients provided feedback in this way and reported a wholly positive experience at the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and clutter free.

• Patients reported that they were seen promptly and treated with care and consideration.

• Infection control standards met national guidance.

• The practice was in the process of overhauling the governance procedures and although not yet completed, significant improvements had already been made.

• Staff demonstrated good awareness of how confidentiality is maintained in the dental practice.

• Dentists followed national guidance in the care and treatment of patients.

• The practice carried medicines and equipment for use in medical emergencies. Although some equipment recommended by the Resuscitation Council UK was missing, this was purchased immediately following the inspection.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.

• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking the X-ray giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000.

• Review the policy for completing accurate, complete and detailed records relating to employment of staff. This includes making appropriate notes of verbal reference taken and ensuring recruitment checks, including references, are suitably obtained and recorded.

• Review the availability of an interpreter service for patients who do not speak English as their first language, and a hearing loop to assist patients with hearing aids.