Highbury Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 14 September 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 are three of the five questions that form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

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 well-led?

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

Background

Highbury Dental Practice is located in the London borough of Islington, and provides NHS general dental treatment to adults and children.

The practice is located on the ground floor of a building on a residential street. A portable ramp is used to gain access to the premises for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice has one treatment room and a separate decontamination room.

The team includes the principal dentist and a dental nurse.

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 principal dentist and the dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open to patients:

Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.

During the lunch hour there is telephone service available.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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 provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported, and worked well as a small team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided. The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.