06 January 2015
During a routine inspection
Smile Dental Practice is located in the London Borough of Bromley in south-east London and provides private and NHS dental services. The provider’s patient list is made up mostly of private fee-paying patients and a few NHS patients. The provider recently took over this location and was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the 17th October 2014 to undertake the regulated activities of Diagnostic and screening procedures; Surgical procedures; and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 6 January 2015. The inspection took place over one day and was undertaken by a CQC inspector. We looked at policy documents, care records; spoke with patients and staff including the management team.
The practice team included a principal dentist, two part-time associates, dental nurses, and a management team including an area manager, practice manager and admin team. The services provided include general dentistry such as placement of crowns and fillings, as well as other procedures including veneers, implants and invisible braces.
We received three comment cards completed by patients and spoke with two patients on the day of the visit. All the cards, and both the patients rated the practice very highly and described the service as very caring.
We found the practice was well-led and provided a safe, effective and caring service that was responsive to the needs of its patients.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider should take action to make improvements.
- Ensure staff files are stored in a lockable storage compartment.
- Ensure the temperature of the refrigerator used to store medicines and dental products is monitored and recorded daily.
- Ensure all staff have received training in, and understand the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as it relates to dental practice.
- Ensure staff induction check-list includes awareness of infection control procedures.
- Ensure out of date medicines are disposed of promptly and suitably.