Hale Dental Clinic

We carried out this announced inspection on 21 January 2020 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 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 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 caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive 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

Hale Dental Clinic is in Cheshire and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Public car parks, including dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available near the practice. The practice is located in first- floor premises which is not accessible to wheelchair users.

The dental team includes five dentists, three dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), a dental hygienist, a receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two treatment rooms. A sedationist attends as required.

The practice is owned by a company 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 registered manager at Hale Dental Clinic is one of the dentists.

On the day of inspection, we collected 17 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses, the dental hygienist, the 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 Friday 9am to 5pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean, tidy and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• 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.
• 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 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 provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

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

• Take action to ensure that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.

• Take action to ensure audits of radiography are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.