Updated 25 March 2020
We carried out this announced inspection on 4 February 2020 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 Care Quality Commission, (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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services effective?
We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services caring?
We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services responsive?
We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
Princes Street Dental Care is in Yeovil and provides treatment for adults and children, which is mainly private dental care with a small NHS contract for existing patients.
The practice does not have level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. However, it does have a stair lift for some sections of stairs. There is a local car park available near the practice.
The dental team includes four dentists; three of which are partners, seven dental nurses, two dental hygienists, one receptionist and two practice managers (who also cover reception, when required). The practice has five treatment rooms.
The practice is owned by a partnership 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 Princes Street Dental Care is the practice manager.
On the day of inspection, we collected 13 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with four other patients.
During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, two dental nurses, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and the two practice managers. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
- 8:30am – 5pm Monday to Friday
Our key findings were:
- The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
- The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
- The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
- The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
- The provider had staff recruitment procedures which should be further improved to ensure current legislation requirements were met.
- 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 supported patients to ensure better oral health.
- The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
- The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
- The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
- The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
- The provider had information governance arrangements.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Implement an effective system for monitoring and recording the temperature of where medicines were stored to ensure they are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.
- Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
- Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.
- Take action to ensure the clinicians carry out patient assessments and ensure they are in compliance with current legislation and take into account relevant nationally recognised evidence-based guidance.
- Take action to implement any recommendations in the practice's fire safety risk assessment and ensure ongoing fire safety management is effective.
- Take action to ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.