Dr Amish Jessa

We carried out this announced inspection on 10 November 2021 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Dr Amish Jessa is in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice is located close to public transport links, and car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental nurse, a receptionist and a practice manager. 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.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, the dental nurse 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 to Friday from 9am to 5pm

Saturdays from 8.30am to 1pm

Our key findings were:

• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• 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 felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• Improvements were needed to ensure all recommended emergency medicines and equipment were available in the correct format and the equipment was set up ready for use.
• Improvements were needed to the systems to help the provider manage risks to patients and staff.
• The provider had information governance arrangements; however, improvements were needed in relation to closed-circuit television and the storage of written dental care records.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

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

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

• Review the practice's procedures to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.