Kempston Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 15 October 2019 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 and an inspection manager.

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

Kempston Dental Practice is in Kempston, Bedfordshire and provides private treatment to adults and NHS treatment to children.

The practice is located in a three storey building in the town centre. The practice car park is reserved for blue badge holders only. There is public parking available in the surrounding streets and shopping centre.

The dental team includes five dentists, two dental hygienists and seven dental nurses. The clinical team is supported by a practice manager, two receptionists and a cleaner. The practice has five treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an organisation 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 Kempston Dental Practice is the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we received feedback from 98 patients.

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

The practice is open Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 5pm and Friday 8.30am to 4pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained, although there was no recorded evidence of regular deep cleans of the treatment rooms. We discussed this with the practice and a record sheet was immediately put in place.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance. However, on the day of inspection the practice did not have a current Annual Statement for Infection Prevention and Control. This was sent to us the day after the visit.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and most pieces of life-saving equipment were available. The emergency kit was missing certain sizes of clear face masks. When we raised this with the practice they immediately ordered the missing sizes to be delivered the next working day.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. However, not all of the dentists used dental dams in line with guidance from the British Endodontic Society when providing root canal treatment.
• 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 appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team. Staff spoke openly about how much they enjoyed working at the practice.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Take action to ensure dentists are aware of the guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment.