Bassett Dental Practice Ltd

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 December 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

Spa Dental Southampton is a dental practice providing NHS and private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is based in a retail unit in Southampton, a town situated in south Hampshire.

The practice has three dental treatment rooms. One of which is based on the ground floor and two separate decontamination rooms used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility.

The practice employs three dentists, two hygienists, one dental nurse, one trainee dental nurse, one decontamination assistant, two reception staff and a practice manager who is also a registered dental nurse.

The practice’s opening hours are between 9am and 8pm on Monday, 9am and 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 8am and 5pm Thursday and 8am and 2pm on Friday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed. This is provided by an out-of-hours service.

The provider, Mr. John Webley, is registered as an individual and is legally responsible for making sure that the practice meets the requirements relating to safety and quality of care, as specified in the regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We obtained the views of 15 patients on the day of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Leadership was provided by a recently appointed empowered practice manager and the practice owner.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was properly maintained.
• Infection control procedures were effective and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the practice owner.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner and the practice manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• The practice generally had effective clinical governance and risk management structures in place. These were considered as work in progress because the practice owner had recently acquired full ownership of the practice from a corporate body.

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

• Review arrangements for accessing the practice website to bring it up to date.
• Consider providing details of all the dentists working at the practice including their General Dental Council (GDC) registration number in accordance with GDC guidance issued in March 2012 on NHS Choices website.
• Review patient information and responses to patient comments on the NHS Choices website.
• Consider providing the hygienist with the support of an appropriately trained member of the dental team.
• Review the availability of hearing loops for patients who are hearing aid users.
• Provide an annual statement in relation to infection prevention control required under The Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
• Review the safety arrangements of the window blinds in the practice, this could include either ensuring the pull cords are made secure or carrying out a suitable risk assessment in relation to the pull cords.
• Consider making the first-floor decontamination room secure to prevent unauthorised access to substances under the control of substances hazardous to health by the public.
• Review the system of pre-employment checks to ensure that any gaps in employment history are explored prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Provide a recruitment policy for the new organisation.
• Review the fire safety governance systems and processes for the practice including fire safety training.
• Review the security of the domestic waste bin adjacent to the practice as this presents an arson risk.
• Review the ordering arrangements for emergency medicines so that they are replaced in a timely manner.
• Consider replacement of the carpet on the first-floor landing and the area at the bottom of the stair on the ground floor to prevent trips slips and falls by the public and members of staff.
• Consider repair of the cover to the hygienist stool.
• Consider carrying out a systematic review of all policies to ensure that they contain a date and version number.
• Promote the greater use of the Family and Friends Test as part of the ongoing system for seeking the views of patients on the quality of care provided by the practice.