Updated 26 January 2024
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Battle Hill Dental Practice on 17 January 2024. This inspection was carried out to review 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 advisor.
We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Battle Hill Dental Practice on 4 November 2022 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.
We carried out a follow up focused inspection on 5 July 2023 and found a number of improvements had been made, however the provider was not providing well led care and was found to still be in breach of regulation 17.
You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Battle Hill Dental Practice dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When 1 or more of the 5 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 area where improvement was required.
As part of this inspection 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 5 July 2023.
Background
Battle Hill Dental Practice is in Hexham in Northumberland and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice is located near local transport routes. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made some adjustments to support patients with additional needs.
The dental team includes 2 dentists, 3 dental nurses (2 of whom are trainees), 1 dental hygienist, a practice manager/dental nurse and 1 dental technician. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with 1 dentist, 1 trainee dental nurse and the practice manager/dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday and Thursday from 9am to 5.30pm
Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am to 5pm
Friday from 8am to 1pm
The practice closes for lunch between 1pm and 2pm daily
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice's complaint handling procedures and establish an accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints by service users.