Bupa Dental Care Staines

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 5 October 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 always ask the following three questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Bupa Dental Care is in Staines and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. There is a public car park near to the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, one oral surgeon, three dental hygienists, four dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, one practice administrator and a practice manager. 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 CQC 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 practice manager at the practice is currently registering as the registered manager.

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

The practice is open:

• Monday 8.00am to 8.00pm
• Tuesday 8.00am to 8.00pm
• Wednesday 8.00am to 8.00pm
• Thursday 8.00am to 5.30pm
• Friday 8.00am to 5.00pm
• Saturday 8.00am to 12.00pm

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Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies.
• Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. There were areas for improvement which included; management of medicines, cleaning equipment and substances hazardous to health.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• The provider had information governance arrangements 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 a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.

The manager accepted the clinical and managerial issues that we raised and took immediate action on the day of our inspection to begin to address these. We have been sent evidence to demonstrate that the shortfalls have since been addressed.

Where evidence is sent that shows the relevant issues have been acted on, we have stated this in our report but we cannot say that the practice did not have shortfalls as this would not be an accurate reflection of what was found at our inspection.

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

• Improve the practice's systems for assessing, monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities. In particular; effective management of medicines, effective storage of cleaning equipment and substances hazardous to health[HA1] .