Grays Inn Road Dental Practice

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 19 March 2024 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 practice was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.

The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

• The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.
• The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises. Improvements could be made to ensure all staff had adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. Improvements were required to ensure all staff received safeguarding training at the appropriate level.
• The practice had infection control procedures which generally reflected published guidance. However, improvements were required in regards to the storage of all instruments.

Background

Gray’s Inn Road Dental Practice is in The London Borough of Camden and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is on the first floor of a high street building, and not accessible to people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice has processes to communicate this to patients prior to their appointment. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 1 principal dentist, 1 associate dentist and a practice manager. Dental nurses are sourced through an agency. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 6pm.

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

• Take action to ensure that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
• Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’ In particular in regard to the storing of instruments.
• Take action to ensure that all the staff have received training, including in the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, to an appropriate level.
• Take action to ensure audits of antimicrobial prescribing are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.