Genix Healthcare Dental Clinic - Cirencester

We carried out this unannounced focused inspection on 24 November 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, the following 2 questions were asked:

• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

• Overall, the practice appeared to be visibly clean. However, improvements were needed to the storage arrangements for cleaning equipment and to ensure cleaning schedules were introduced.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance; however, these were not consistently followed.
• Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were not available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice did not have effective systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises.
• Safeguarding processes were in place; improvements were needed to ensure accurate information was available to staff.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation; however we could not be assured these were consistently followed.

Background

Genix Healthcare Dental Clinic - Cirencester is part of Genix a dental group provider. The practice is in Cirencester in Gloucestershire and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is ramped access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice is located close to local transport routes and car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 5 trainee dental nurses, 1 dental therapist, 2 interim practice managers and 2 receptionists. The practice has 5 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 2 dentists, 2 dental nurses, 2 receptionists and 1 of the interim practice managers. We also spoke with the group compliance lead and area manager on the phone. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm

Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30am to 7pm

Saturday from 10:00am to 2pm

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:

• Improve audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.
• Take action to ensure audits of radiography are undertaken in accordance with guidance to improve the quality of the service. Practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.