Great Cornard Dental Practice

We undertook a follow-up on-site inspection on 21 April 2026. This was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to assess whether the practice was meeting legal requirements.

We had previously undertaken an announced on-site inspection of Great Cornard Dental Practice on 27 January 2025 and 22 January 2026. We had found the registered provider was not providing safe or well-led care and was in breach of regulation 12 safe care and treatment and regulation 17 good governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

During our follow-up inspection, we found the practice made some improvements but had not met all regulations.

Some improvements had been made to the systems to manage risks.

Improvements had been made to the recruitment procedures.

Some improvements had been made to the oversight of the service to ensure the risks associated with the carrying out of the regulated activities are managed effectively.

The practice did not handle complaints effectively.

Great Cornard Dental Practice is in Great Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There was step-free access to the practice and car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, were available at the practice. The practice had 1 treatment room (there were 2 other treatment rooms, but at the time of our inspection, these were not in use).At the time of our inspection, there was a total of 3 staff, of which there was 1 dentist, 1 dental nurse and a receptionist. We gathered feedback from all the staff.

The provider was not complying with Regulation 17 Good governance. Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are within the inspection findings below.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.

We undertook a follow-up on-site inspection on 22 January 2026. This was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to assess whether the practice was meeting legal requirements.

We had previously undertaken an announced on-site inspection of Great Cornard Dental Practice on 27 January 2025. We had found the registered provider was not providing safe and well-led care and was in breach of Regulation 12 Safe Care and Treatment and Regulation 17 Good Governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

During our follow-up inspection, we found the practice had not met regulations.

Recruitment procedures did not reflect current legislation.

Leadership was not always effective. Systems to support a culture of continuous improvement and development were not established.

There was scope for improvement with the practice’s systems to manage risks.

Great Cornard Dental Practice is in Great Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There was step-free access to the practice and car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, were available near the practice. The practice had 1 treatment room (there were 2 other treatment rooms, but these were not in use at the time of our inspection). At the time of our inspection, there was a total of 4 staff, of which there was 1 dentist and 3 trainee dental nurses. We gathered feedback from staff and spoke to the dentist and 2 trainee dental nurses.

The provider was not complying with 2 regulations. Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are within the inspection findings below.

In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.