• Dentist
  • Dentist

Dental Department - University of East Anglia

Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ (01603) 592173

Provided and run by:
University Of East Anglia

All Inspections

15 March 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up focused inspection Dental Department - University of East Anglia on 15 March 2022. This inspection 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 provider was now meeting legal requirements.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of the practice on 21 September 2021 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 Dental Department - University of East Anglia dental practice 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 again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations. The provider had made good improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 21 September 2021.

Background

Dental Department - University of East Anglia is a well-established practice that offers NHS treatment to students and staff of the university. It is based in the university’s campus and has two treatment rooms. The dental team includes two dentists, four dental nurses, and a practice manager, all of whom are employed directly by the university. The practice is situated in a building shared with the student medical centre and is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

On the day of inspection, we spoke with the practice manager and a dentist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service was managed.

21 September 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this announced inspection on 21 September 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

As part of this inspection we asked the following 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 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 well-led?

We found that this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Dental Department- University of East Anglia is a well-established practice that offers NHS treatment to students and staff of the university. It is based in the university’s campus and has two treatment rooms. The dental team includes three dentists, four dental nurses, and a practice manager, all of whom are employed directly by the university. The practice is situated in a building shared with a GP practice and is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

The practice is registered as 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 the practice is the practice manager.

On the day of inspection, we spoke with the practice manager, a dentist and three dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service was managed.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
  • Staff felt respected, supported and valued.
  • Systems for obtaining patient feedback about the service were good.
  • There were limited systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service provision and clinical care.
  • The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Comprehensive procedures had been implemented to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

We identified regulations the provider was not meeting. They must:

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

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

  • Ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to agency staff commencing employment at the practice.

  • Implement local safety standards for invasive procedures to prevent wrong site dental extractions.

  • Implement an effective system for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.

23 May 2013

During a routine inspection

People told us that they felt involved in the decisions about their dental treatment and care. One person told us that, 'l know what's going on with my dental care.' This showed us that people's views and experiences were taken into account in the way the service was provided and delivered in relation to their care.

We reviewed five dental treatment records in detail. We saw that these included in-depth treatment plans. This meant that people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

Those staff spoken with told us that they were confident that they would recognise and know what action to take if they observed any potential abuse. This meant that people who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

The staff spoken with were aware of their roles and responsibilities in regard to infection control and the prevention of potential cross infections. This meant that people were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed.

The service had an audit framework in place and documented audits took place. The steps taken to address any identified concerns had been recorded. This showed us that the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.