Updated 18 July 2019
We carried out this announced inspection on 19 June 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 Studio - Chichester provides private treatment to adults and children.
The practice is accessible via steps, treatment room are located on the first floor. Car parking spaces, including those for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes the principal dentist, one associate dentist, two dental nurses, one dental hygienist/therapist, a practice manager, a compliance manager and a business manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.
The practice is owned by a company 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 managers at Dental Studio Chichester are the principal dentist and compliance manager for the company.
On the day of inspection, we collected 28 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients.
During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, one dental nurse, the practice manager, the compliance manager and the business manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
- Monday to Thursday from 8.15am to 5.15pm
- Friday from 8.15am to 4pm
Our key findings were:
- The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
- The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
- 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.
- The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
- Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
- Staff provided preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
- The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
- The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
- 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
- The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.
We identified an area of notable practice:
- The practice had implemented a simple and effective visual data collection tool, a ‘safety cross’, used daily to identify areas within the practice for learning and improvement.
- The safety cross allowed real time action, prevention and/or escalation of any events that could be learned from.
- This promoted a positive, safe and no blame culture; and had resulted in improvements in the patient experience.