The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: Chester Dental Clinic

Belmont House, Volunteer Street, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 1RG (01244) 350858

Provided and run by:
Dr. Asif Saleem

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile
Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

28 October 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up desk-based review of Chester Dental Clinic on 28 October 2020. This review was carried out to review in detail the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

The review was led by a CQC inspector.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Chester Dental Clinic on 30 October 2019 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well led care and was in breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Chester Dental Clinic on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect or review again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area where improvement was required.

As part of this review we asked:

• Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services well-led?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 28 October 2020.

Background

Chester Dental Clinic is in Chester town centre and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

Access is not possible for wheelchair users. Car parking, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, four dental nurses (one of which is the practice manager and one is a trainee), one part time dental hygienist and a receptionist. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

During the review we spoke with owner 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 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm

Saturday 9am to 1pm

Our key findings were:

  • There were systems in place for checking the availability of medicines and life-saving equipment and removing expired medicines.

  • Systems to identify and manage risk to patients and staff had been improved. For example, electrical and fire safety, risk assessing hazardous substances and sharps, and ensuring staff had immunity to Hepatitis B.

  • A system was in place to ensure the security and appropriate use of NHS prescriptions.

  • A process was now in place to check the suitability of agency staff and ensure they are familiar with practice protocols.

  • The provider had increased their leadership capacity at the practice and staff reported that communication had improved.

30 October 2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 30 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.

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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Chester Dental Clinic is in Chester town centre and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

Access is not possible for wheelchair users. Car parking, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, four dental nurses (one of which is the practice manager and one is a trainee), one part time dental hygienist and a receptionist. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected 13 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. These provided a positive view of the dental team and care provided by the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses 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 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm

Saturday 9am to 1pm

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared clean and tidy.
  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. The availability of medicines and life-saving equipment and systems for checking these should be reviewed.
  • Systems to identify and manage risk to patients and staff could be improved.
  • The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures except for checks for agency staff.
  • 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 supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
  • The provider did not demonstrate effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
  • Staff worked well together as a team.
  • The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The provider had systems to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.
  • The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care

Full details of the regulation the provider is not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

  • Improve 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’ (In particular, the identification of re-processing dates on sterilised instruments).
  • Implement protocols and procedures in relation to the Accessible Information Standard to ensure that that the requirements are complied with.
  • Take action to ensure the availability of an interpreter service for patients who do not speak English as their first language.

2 December 2015

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 2 December 2015 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

The practice is situated in Chester city centre. The practice has four dentists, a dental hygiene/ therapist, a practice manager, three qualified dental nurses and one trainee dental nurse. The practice provides general dental services to private patients only. The practice is open Monday – Friday 9am – 5.30pm and Saturday morning 9am – 1pm.

The principal dentist is the registered provider. A registered provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers 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 received feedback from 31 patients about the service. The 26 comment cards seen and five patients spoken to reflected positive comments about the staff and the services provided. Patients told us they had no concerns regarding the cleanliness and hygiene of the practice. They found the staff very caring and friendly. They had trust and confidence in the dental treatments and said explanations from clinicians were clear and understandable. Emergency appointments were available on the same day and appointments usually ran on time.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice recorded and analysed accidents, incidents and complaints and cascaded learning to staff when they occurred.
  • Staff had received safeguarding training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.
  • There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
  • Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and emergency medicines and equipment were available.
  • Infection control procedures were in place.
  • Patients’ care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current legislation.
  • Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect and their confidentiality was maintained.
  • The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
  • The practice staff felt involved and worked as a team.
  • The practice took into account any comments, concerns or complaints and used these to help them improve.

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

  • Implementation of a scheduled maintenance plan to cover all areas of the practice with priority on the treatment rooms/surgeries.
  • Updating infection control audit action plans with progress on actions identified.
  • Review how patient safety and other relevant alerts and guidance are followed and actions taken are recorded.
  • Reviewing and updating policies and procedures including recruitment policies and procedures to ensure they meet relevant guidelines and legislation.