Gentle Dentistry Care Limited

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 14 August 2017 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

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

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

Gentle Dentistry Care Limited is located in Putney, in the London borough of Wandsworth and provides private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes six dentists, two dental nurses, two dental hygienists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Gentle Dentistry Care Limited was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection we spoke with four patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, a dental nurse and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturdays with late opening till 8pm on Thursdays.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures, however improvements could be made to this.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. However, improvements were required in regards to following guidance around sedation.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

• Review stocks of medicines, materials and equipment and the system for identifying and disposing of out-of-date stock.
• Review the practice recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate background checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Review the practice’s protocols for conscious sedation, taking into account guidelines published by The Intercollegiate Advisory Committee on Sedation in Dentistry in the document 'Standards for Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care 2015.
• Review the practice's current audit protocols to ensure audits of key aspects of service delivery are undertaken at regular intervals and where applicable learning points are documented and shared with all relevant staff
• Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members and have an effective process established for the on-going assessment and supervision of all staff.