Archived: Mellor and Associates

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 17 November 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Mellor and Associates dental practice is housed in a four-storey Victorian building in Middlesbrough, Teesside and provides private dental treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice consists of two treatment rooms, a dedicated decontamination room for sterilising dental instruments, an X-ray room, the reception, a waiting room and a staff room / kitchen. Car parking is available on the side-streets near the practice. Access for wheelchair users or pushchairs is not possible due to building restrictions however details of alternative practices are provided to patients where relevant.

The practice is open Monday and Tuesday 0830-1800, Wednesday 0830-1600 and Thursday and Friday 0830-1700.

The dental team is comprised of the practice owner, an associate dentist, the practice manager, a hygienist, a qualified dental nurse/receptionist and a trainee dental nurse.

The practice owner is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

We reviewed 1 CQC comment card on the day of our visit; the patient was very positive about the staff and standard of care provided by the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was well organised, visibly clean and free from clutter.
• Staff were very friendly, caring and enthusiastic.
• An Infection prevention and control policy was in place. We saw the sterilisation procedures followed recommended guidance.
• The practice had systems for recording incidents and accidents.
• Practice meetings were used for shared learning.
• Dental professionals provided treatment in accordance with current professional guidelines.
• Patient feedback was regularly sought and reflected upon.
• Patients could access urgent care when required.
• Dental professionals were maintaining their continued professional development (CPD) in accordance with their professional registration.
• Complaints were dealt with in an efficient and positive manner.
• Staff received annual medical emergency training.
• Staff were aware on how to escalate safeguarding issues for children and adults should the need arise.
• Equipment for dealing with medical emergencies reflected guidance from the resuscitation council however some were beyond their expiry date.
• The registered provider had not received safety alerts from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) since 2010.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review their emergency medicines and equipment and the system for identifying and reordering of expired items.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS), as well as from other relevant bodies such as, Public Health England (PHE).
• Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.
• Review its responsibilities as regards to the Control of Substance Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and, ensure all documentation is up to date and staff understand how to minimise risks associated with the use of and handling of these substances.
• Review its audit protocols to document learning points that are shared with all relevant staff and ensure that the resulting improvements can be demonstrated as part of the audit process.
• Review the practice’s procedure for maintaining logs of all sterilisation equipment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.