Linton Street Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on the 26 September 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:

Background

Linton Street Dental Practice is in Fulwood and provides NHS dental treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, four dental nurses of which two are trainees, one dental hygiene therapist and two receptionists. The principal dentist is supported by a lead nurse and an administrator. The practice has three treatment rooms.

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 collected 37 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, one dental nurse, one receptionist and the management team. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 8.00am – 5.30pm.

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 supported 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.

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. Risk assessments should be undertaken for staff with low immunity.

• Improve the practice's risk management systems for monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities. In particular fire safety checks.

• Implement protocols for the use of closed-circuit television cameras taking into account the guidelines published by the Information Commissioner's Office.