The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: Luton Dental Practice

12A King Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 2DP (01582) 726853

Provided and run by:
Mr Amit Patel

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile
Important: The provider of this service changed - see old profile

All Inspections

12 February 2019

During an inspection looking at part of the service

This inspection was carried out to review in detail the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector.

Previously, we had undertaken a comprehensive inspection on 18 April 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Luton Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it well-led?

Background

Luton Dental Practice provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages. The practice is situated on the first floor of a commercial building and is not accessible for people who use wheelchairs and has limited accessibility for people with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice in the town centre car parks.

The dental team includes one dentist, one dental nurse and a practice manager who works at the practice on an ad hoc basis. The practice has one treatment room.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They 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 looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our findings were:

The provider had made adequate improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our previous inspection and was now providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

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

• Embed newly implemented improvements into the practice and ensure they are sustained in the long-term.

18 April 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 18 April 2018 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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Luton Dental Practice is in the town centre of Luton and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is situated on the first floor of a commercial building and as such is not accessible for people who use wheelchairs and has limited accessibility for people with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice in the town centre car parks.

The dental team includes one dentist, two locum dental nurses and a practice manager who works at the practice on an ad hoc basis. The practice has one functional treatment room.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection we spoke with three patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, one of the locum dental nurses and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday 8.30am to 5.30pm

Tuesday 8.30am to 5.30pm

Wednesday 9am to 5pm

Thursday 8.30am to 7pm

Saturday 9am to 12pm.

At the time of the inspection appointments mostly took place on Tuesday and Saturday.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Most appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • The practice had some systems to help them manage risk although the recommendations from these had not always been implemented.
  • The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
  • The practice had mostly 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.
  • The appointment system met patients’ needs.
  • The practice had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
  • The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

We identified regulations the provider was not meeting. They must:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care

Full details of the regulation/s the provider was/is not meeting are at the end of this report .