Archived: Diamond Dental Care

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 9 August 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

The practice is located in premises in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in north Nottinghamshire. The practice provides mostly NHS dental treatments with approximately 98% of the treatment provided to NHS patients. There is a small car park to the rear of the practice otherwise there is roadside parking available in the local area. There is one treatment room which is located on the ground floor.

The practice provides regulated dental services to both adults and children. Services provided include general dentistry, dental hygiene, crowns and bridges, and root canal treatment.

The practice’s opening hours are – Monday to Thursday: 9 am to 5:30 pm; Friday: 9 am to 1 pm. The practice is closed at weekends.

Access for urgent treatment outside of opening hours is by telephoning the practice and following the instructions on the answerphone message. Alternatively patients could telephone the NHS 111 telephone number.

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.

The practice has one dentist, two qualified dental nurses and one trainee dental nurse. The dental nurses also work on the reception desk

We received positive feedback from 32 patients about the services provided. This was by speaking with patients in the practice and through CQC comment cards left at the practice prior to the inspection.

Our key findings were:

• Patients at the practice and through CQC comment cards provided positive feedback about their experiences at the practice. Patients said they were treated with dignity and respect.
• The practice was well equipped.
• Patients’ confidentiality was maintained.
• The practice was visibly clean and tidy.
• The practice followed the relevant guidance from the Department of Health's: ‘Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (HTM 01-05) for infection control with regard to cleaning and sterilizing dental instruments.
• There was a whistleblowing policy accessible to all staff, who were aware of procedures to follow if they had any concerns.
• The practice had the necessary equipment for staff to deal with medical emergencies, and staff had been trained how to use that equipment. This included an automated external defibrillator, oxygen and emergency medicines.

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

• Review the practice's protocols for completion of dental records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping. Particularly in respect of fully recording clinical examinations and discussions, dating policies, procedures and risk assessments and identifying when those documents are to be reviewed.

• Review the practice’s audit protocols of various aspects of the service, such as radiography and dental care records at regular intervals to help improve the quality of service. The practice should also check all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.