The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Tower Dental

12/13 Tower Centre, Alvescot Rd, Carterton, Oxfordshire, OX18 3JG (01993) 840117

Provided and run by:
Mr Matthew Jackson

All Inspections

12 September 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

When we visited the practice on 22 May 2014, we found the patients and staff employed at the practice were not fully protected against the risk of infection because current guidance had not been followed. We set a compliance action in respect of this. We received an action plan which set out what actions were to be taken, to achieve compliance.

During this inspection we found the practice had taken effective action and achieved compliance. We did not speak to patients during this visit.

On the day of inspection there were two members of the team working, a dentist and the hygienist. We noted the dentist was not being supported by a dental nurse. We spoke to the principal dentist about this. They explained that a dental nurse was absent and they were in the process of advertising for a new dental nurse position.

The principal dentist talked us through the process for the decontamination of reusable dental instruments. They described how the equipment was used, checked and maintained in line with guidance from the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (HTM 01-05): Decontamination in primary care dental practices.

We saw evidence protein residue tests had been carried on a weekly basis, in line with current guidance. We observed good hygiene practice during the decontamination process.

Staff had access to decontamination process protocols. These were specific to the practice and mandatory requirements had been highlighted for all staff members to adhere to. We saw the cleaning schedule clearly listed the areas of the practice the staff should clean and how often each area should be cleaned.

22 May 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We did not speak with patients who used the service. This was a follow up inspection to check on compliance with infection control and quality assurance. We found improvements to the availability of information about how to make a complaint and found the practice had collected the views of patients through patient survey forms. We also found the practice had completed an infection control audit since the previous inspection. Although we found some improvements in how the practice managed infection control, we found some areas still required improvement. Some of the current guidance relating to infection control practices had not been followed, this potentially put patients and staff at risk from infection. Staff and patients were at risk from infection because they were not following current guidance relating to personal protective equipment.

10 September 2013

During a routine inspection

During our visit to Tower Dental we met with the dentist and the dental hygienist. We spoke with two members of staff. We spoke with four patients who attended the surgery.

All of the patients we spoke with were very happy with the dental treatment they received. One patient told us 'I couldn't fault it (the service) at all. It's always very friendly'. Another patient said 'you always see the same dentist, that's nice really. Definitely a positive'. We looked at patient records which confirmed the treatment patients said they had received.

Patients we spoke with were happy with the standards of cleanliness and hygiene. However, we found that the practice did not follow all processes and procedures to minimise the risk and spread of infection because current guidelines were not followed.

Staff told us they were supported to carry out their roles. We saw that staff received training specific to their job. Staff told us they worked closely with the dentist on a daily basis and could speak with them about their work at any time.

The practice did not have robust systems in place to seek and act on patient feedback or carry out an audit to monitor the quality of cleanliness and hygiene. Patients were not given information on how to make a complaint.