Richmond Dental Care Limited

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 13 June 2023 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 practice 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

• The dental clinic appeared clean and well-maintained.
• Improvements could be made to ensure the practice infection prevention and control procedures fully reflect published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies.
• Improvements could be made to current systems to ensure all appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available and reflected guidance.
• The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
• The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved, supported and worked as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement; systems to ensure audits were effective could be improved.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The practice had information governance arrangements.

Background

Richmond Dental Care limited is in Sheffield 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. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available to the rear of the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 7 dentists (1 of whom is a foundation training dentist), 10 dental nurses (1 of whom is a trainee), 2 dental therapists, 1 practice manager, 3 receptionists and a cleaner. The practice has 6 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 4 dentists, 7 dental nurses, 1 dental therapist, 2 receptionists and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm

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

• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’.
• Review current systems to ensure the availability of emergency medicines and equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.
• Take action to ensure audits of Infection, prevention and control, radiography and antimicrobial prescribing are undertaken in line with current guidance to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.