Shadwell Dental Care Limited

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 23 November 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

Shadwell Dental Care Limited provides private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted property which was formally a GP practice. The facilities are all on the ground floor including four treatment rooms, a decontamination room, staff rooms, a reception and a waiting area. The premises have been adapted to accommodate wheelchair users, including access to the premises and toilet facilities. Parking is available to the front of the premises with additional on street parking. The practice provides general dentistry as well as specialised treatments such as sedation and implants.

The practice is open 9am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12.45pm on Saturdays by appointment only.

The practice has three dentists who are supported by two dental hygienists, four dental nurses, a practice manager and reception staff.

One of the partners is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 51 patients. These provided a completely positive view of the services the practice provides.

Patients commented on the high quality of care, the caring nature of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall high quality of customer care.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was well organised, visibly clean and free from clutter.
• An infection prevention and control policy was in place. We saw the sterilisation procedures followed recommended guidance.
• The practice had systems for recording incidents and accidents.
• Practice meetings were used for shared learning.
• The practice had a safeguarding policy and staff were aware on how to escalate safeguarding issues for children and adults should the need arise.
• Staff received annual medical emergency training. Equipment for dealing with medical emergencies reflected guidance from the resuscitation council.
• Dental professionals provided treatment in accordance with current professional guidelines.
• Patient feedback was regularly sought and reflected upon.
• Patients could access urgent care when required.
• Dental professionals were maintaining their continued professional development (CPD) in accordance with their professional registration.
• Complaints were dealt with in an efficient and positive manner.
• The practice was actively involved in promoting oral health.

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

• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS), as well as from other relevant bodies such as, Public Health England (PHE).
• Review stocks of medicines and equipment and the system for identifying and disposing of out-of-date stock.
• Review the practice’s audit protocols of various aspects of the service, such as dental care records at regular intervals to help improve the quality of the service. Practice should also check all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.