The Hampton Wick Dental Centre

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 8 December 2023 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.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. The practice manager had not undertaken the required training.
• 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.
• Improvements could be made to ensure all staff had adequate levels of training and the confidence to deal with medical emergencies.
• The practice had systems to manage risks for patients and staff. Improvements were required to ensure equipment and premises were maintained appropriately.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which required some improvements.

Background

The Hampton Wick Dental Centre is in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available at the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 3 dentists, 1 trainee dental nurse, 1 dental hygienist, 1 practice manager who is also the receptionist. Conscious sedation is provided by a visiting dentist on a peripatetic basis. The practice has 3 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, the trainee dental nurse, the dental hygienist, and the practice manager. We also spoke with the visiting sedationist. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday from 8am to 5.30pm

There were areas where the provider could make improvements.

• Take action to ensure that all team members involved in the delivery of care and treatment to patients under sedation have the appropriate life support skills, taking into account the guidelines published by The Intercollegiate Advisory Committee for Sedation in Dentistry in the document 'Standards for Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care 2020’.
• Improve the practice's systems for checking and monitoring equipment taking into account relevant guidance and ensure that all equipment is well maintained.
• Improve the practice's recruitment procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff.
• Ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment of learning and development needs, training, supervision and appraisal of staff.
• Ensure good governance and leadership are sustained in the longer term.
• Take action to ensure audits of record keeping and 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.