Orchard Dental Centre

Updated 5 October 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection was carried out on 17 August 2016 by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser. Prior to the inspection, we asked the practice to send us some information that we reviewed. This included the complaints they had received in the last 12 months, their latest statement of purpose, and the details of their staff members including proof of registration with their professional bodies.

During the inspection, we spoke with the principal dentist, dental nurse and receptionist and reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We reviewed 11 comment cards that we had asked patients to complete, about the services provided at the practice.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 5 October 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 17 August 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

Orchard Dental Centre is an NHS dental practice in Croydon. The practice is situated in a commercial unit. The practice has one dental treatment room and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. In addition there is a reception and waiting area for patients.

The practice is open 9.00am – 1.00pm Monday and Tuesdays and from 9.00am – 5.00pm Wednesday to Friday. The practice has three dentists working over the course of a week and are supported by one dental nurse and a trainee dental. The dental nurses also provide reception duties.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual ‘registered person’. 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 11 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the quality of care, the friendliness and professionalism of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall quality of customer care.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and audits were being completed every 3 months.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with information available to staff to refer to, although some information was out of date and did not reflect up to date guidance..
• The practice had a system in place for reporting incidents which the practice used for shared learning.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff recruitment files were organised and included relevant pre recruitment documents such as interview notes and references.
• There was a structured approach to learning and development and staff had the opportunity to attend learning and training events.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Feedback from patients gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.