Medidenta Medical Practice

We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Medidenta Medical Practice on 17 January 2020. 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 following a focused inspection carried out on 7 March 2019.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We undertook a focused inspection of Medidenta Medical Practice on 7 March 2019 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of regulations 12 safe care and treatment and 17 good governance 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 Medidenta Medical Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it well-led?

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

When we inspected Medidenta Medical Practice on 7 March 2019 we issued requirement notices for breach of Regulation 17 and requirement notice in relation for breach of Regulation 12.

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 7 March 2019.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 7 March 2019.

Background

Medidenta Medical Practice is in Welling, in the London Borough of Bexley. The practice provides private dental treatment to adults and children.

The practice is located on the ground floor in purpose-adapted commercial property. The practice has one treatment room. There is step-free access to the practice. The practice is located close to public transport services.

The dental team includes three dentists, one dental nurse, two trainee dental nurses and one dental hygienist. The clinical team are supported by a receptionist and a compliance manager.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Medidenta Medical Practice is the dental hygienist.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one dental hygienist, one dental nurse and the compliance manager. We checked practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open between 9am and 5pm on Mondays to Fridays.

Our key findings were:

• The provider had reviewed their infection prevention and control processes so that they reflected published guidance.
• The provider had improved their processes for managing risks associated with medicines and materials so that they were safe and effective.
• There were arrangements to ensure that staff received vaccinations against vaccine preventable infections and that all clinical staff members were suitably immunised.
• The provider had effective systems to help them identify, manage and mitigate risks to patients and staff.

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 07 March 2019 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions.

We planned the inspection in response to concerns we received. We checked 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.

We asked the following questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it well-led?

We focused on the practice’s infection prevention and control processes and their management of medicines and materials.

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was not providing safe 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

Medidenta Medical Practice is in Welling, in the Greater London Borough of Bexley. The practice provides private treatment to adults and children.

The dental team includes a dental hygienist and therapist, three dentists, a qualified dental nurse, a trainee dental nurse, and a compliance adviser/manager. The practice has two treatment rooms, one of which is rented out for physiotherapy services.

The practice is owned by a company, and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Medidenta Medical Practice is the dental hygienist and therapist.

During the inspection we spoke with a dentist, the qualified dental nurse, and the dental hygienist and therapist. We checked practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open from 9am to 5pm Mondays to Fridays.

Our key findings were:

• The provider’s infection prevention and control processes did not reflect published guidance.
• The provider had not established effective processes for managing medicines and materials; several items had passed their expiry dates.
• Staff had received vaccinations against Hepatitis B but the provider had not sought evidence that all clinical staff members were suitably immunised.
• The provider had not established effective systems to help them identify, manage and mitigate risks to patients and staff.

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

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.