Archived: Cherry Hinton Dental Centre

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 21 March 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

Cherry Hinton Dental Centre provides private dental treatment to patients of all ages. Two dentists employ one dental nurse and a trainee dental nurse. Both nurses cover the reception and cleaning duties.

One of the dentists is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. 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.

The practice is located in the high street and operates over the ground floor making it accessible to wheelchair users. The practice has two treatment rooms, a room for taking X-rays, a reception and waiting area, an office, and a decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising, and packing dental instruments. There is a toilet suitable for disabled patients and a car park at the front of the building. There is a secure area for the storage of waste at the rear of the property.

We received feedback from 47 patients during the inspection process. We received positive comments about the cleanliness of the premises, the empathy and responsiveness of staff, and the quality of treatment provided. Patients told us that staff explained treatment plans to them well. Patients reported that the practice had seen them on the same day for emergency treatment.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had received safeguarding training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.
• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available and accessible.
• Infection control procedures were in place and staff had access to personal protective equipment.
• Patients’ care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines and current legislation.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment and its costs, benefits, and risks and were involved in making decisions about them.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and their confidentiality was maintained.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• The practice staff felt involved in the running of the practice and worked as a team.
• Systems, and risk assessments, were in place to give oversight and ensure compliance with regulations.
• Regular audits were performed to manage performance, identify and mitigate risks, and drive improvements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS), as well as from other relevant bodies such as, Public Health England (PHE).
• Review the current legionella risk assessment and where required implement the required actions including the monitoring and recording of water temperatures, giving due regard to the guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
• Review the practices sharps handling procedures and protocols so that they are in line with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.