The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Withington Dental Care

240 Mauldeth Road West, Withington, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M20 1BE (0161) 445 6000

Provided and run by:
Mrs Ala Vitkuniene

All Inspections

22/03/2024

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Withington Dental Care on 22 March 2024. This inspection was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

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

We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Withington Dental Care on 13 December 2023 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 well-led care and was in breach of regulation 17 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 Withington Dental Care on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

When 1 or more of the 5 questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

  • Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

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 breach we found at our inspection on 13 December 2023.

Background

The provider has 1 practice and this report is about Withington Dental Care.

Withington Dental Care is in Withington, Manchester and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 3 dentists, 2 qualified dental nurses, 2 receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 3 dentists, 2 qualified dental nurses, 1 receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

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

  • Improve the practice's processes for the control and storage of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken.

13/12/2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 13 December 2023 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 practice 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

  • The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate emergency medicines were available. Checking processes had not identified expired and missing life-saving equipment.
  • The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises, however these were not always followed.
  • There was no safeguarding policy at the practice.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
  • Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. The documentation of care should be improved.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
  • The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
  • Leadership and oversight of the service was not effective.
  • Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.
  • Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
  • Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
  • The practice did not have effective information governance arrangements.

Background

Withington Dental Care is in Withington, Manchester and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is no step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 2 qualified dental nurses, 1 receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 1 dentist, 2 qualified dental nurses, 1 receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

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.

Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

  • Take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry when completing dental care records.

1 August 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We visited Withington Dental Practice in March 2014 and found that improvements were required in their staff recruitment procedures, governance arrangements and record management. Following the inspection the provider prepared an action plan. The provider set realistic timescales by which the improvements would be made and a person with lead responsibilities for the actions was identified.

During this follow up inspection in August 2014 we found that the improvements required had been made by the provider.

7, 12 March 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We spoke with two patients and one relative. People spoke positively about the dental practice. One relative told us that their family member "doesn't like the dentist, but doesn't mind the care." They noted that although this was not their usual dental practice, this was the second time the patient had seen this dentist for specialist treatment and they had "no concerns."

We observed a dentist and two dental nurses provide care and treatment to four patients. We found that the staff interacted with patients in a calm way, providing reassurance at appropriate intervals.

We spoke with five staff members. Staff spoke positively about the changes to the practice since the July 2013 inspection. They told us that they met regularly as a team and felt supported by each other. One staff member described volunteer work they did in the community to promote oral health. We saw evidence that staff were encouraged to obtain further qualifications, such as completing specialist training in sedation.

The provider had acted on concerns we raised in the July 2013 inspection. This meant that they now had adequate systems in place to respond to complaints, maintain cleanliness and prevent cross-infections. Our specialist advisor, who was an experienced dentist, observed clinical practice and found that staff demonstrated their experience and competencies. Records demonstrated that staff had attended relevant training, such as fire safety or resuscitation; we saw plans in place to update this training.

Although patient records were now accurate and secure, the provider still did not have effective systems in place to manage other records. We found that the provider did not collect and maintain all information required by the regulations, when recruiting new staff. This meant that they could not provide assurances that all staff were of good character.

Although we noted improvements since the July 2013 inspection, we found that the provider still did not have an effective system to assess and monitor the quality of the service, as not all risks to people were appropriately monitored.

29 July 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with two patients who told us that although their experience had not always been positive, their current dentist was "really nice" and explained the treatment well. We saw that some patients had recorded positive experiences in a book, such as: "excellent service, thank you", "all the staff are friendly" and "highly recommend". Other patients recorded negative experiences, such as: "very rude and not professional", "dentist was very rude to me" and "waited too long to be seen." People also reported a range of experiences on NHS Choices. Some comments included: "The dentist was very caring and explained everything to me" and "the dentist had no care and no respect for my wishes".

Patients received adequate information about treatment options and staff respected their choices. Staff had a good understanding of consent and capacity. Patients attending for general dentistry appointments were appropriately assessed and treated; however, the records for patients attending for specialist treatments, such as sedation, did not reflect relevant guidance. The practice was clean, but staff did not follow protocol in cleaning and sterilising equipment.

Records pertaining to patients' care, to staff training, and to the management of the service were incomplete. The provider did not have a system for recording and responding to complaints or for monitoring the quality of the service.