Updated 8 April 2020
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of The Dental Surgery on 2 March 2020. 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 practice was now meeting legal requirements.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of The Dental Surgery on 24 and 29 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of regulations 12 (Safe care and treatment) and 17 (Good governance) 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 The Dental Surgery on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked:
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
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.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 24 and 29 October 2019.
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 24 and 29 October 2019.
Background
The Dental Surgery is in Crumpsall, Manchester and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.
The practice is not accessible for people who use wheelchairs. On street parking is available near the practice.
The dental team includes three dentists, four dental nurses, a receptionist and a practice manager. 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 inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one dental nurse 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 Thursday 9am to 5pm
Friday 9am to 1pm
Our key findings were:
- Improvements had been made to the process for managing the risks associated with the carrying out of the regulated activities. These included the risks associated with fire, incident reporting and the structural integrity of the premises. Further improvements were required to help reduce the risks associated with Legionella.
- A system had been put in place to monitor staff training. We saw evidence staff had completed appropriate ‘highly recommended’ training.
- The contents of the medical emergency kit reflected nationally recognised guidance.
- Some improvements had been made to the process for ensuring agency staff were competent for their role.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice’s arrangements for ensuring good governance and leadership are sustained in the longer term.
- Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.
- Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.