18 September 2020
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We carried out the review as a result of concerns raised with us that the provider may not be meeting the fundamental standards of care. We planned the review to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The review was led by a CQC inspector with remote access to a specialist dental adviser.
To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment we asked the following question:
•Is it safe?
This question forms the framework for the areas we look at during the review.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
The Dental care Centre is in the centre of Huddersfield. The practice provides NHS and private dental care for adults and children.
The dental team includes five dentists, one dental therapist, four dental nurses, three reception staff and a practice manager. The practice has five 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.
This desk-based review was undertaken during the Covid 19 pandemic. Due to the demands and constraints in place because of Covid 19 we spoke with the principal dentist and practice manager via a video link to the practice. We were able to look around the building and look at specific areas. We looked at recruitment records, practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday to Friday 8:30am-5pm
Saturday 9.00am to 12pm.
Our key findings were :
- The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
- The provider had infection control procedures in place which took account of published guidance, including guidance on the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The provider had systems in place to manage risk including management of fire safety systems .
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
Review the recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.