Castle Bromwich Dental Partnership Also known as Castle Bromwich Dental Care

We carried out this announced inspection on 1 October 2019 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser. In addition, there was a newly recruited specialist dental adviser who attended the inspection.

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 that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Castle Bromwich Dental Partnership is in Castle Bromwich in Birmingham and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available outside the practice.

The dental team includes five dentists, six dental nurses (one of whom was the practice manager), two dental hygienists, one dental hygiene therapist and one receptionist. The practice has four treatment rooms and a separate room for carrying out the decontamination of instruments.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 Castle Bromwich Dental Partnership is the senior partner.

We sent 50 comment cards in advance of our visit to the practice for patients to complete. On the day of inspection, we collected 41 CQC comment cards that had been filled in by patients. This represented an 82% response rate.

We spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses, one receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which mostly reflected published guidance. Improvements were made to strengthen processes within 48 hours of our inspection.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available with the exception of a few items. These were ordered promptly.
• The practice had systems to help manage risk to patients and staff. Some necessary improvements were identified.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures. Improvements were needed to ensure the availability of complete immunisation records for all clinical staff members and the completion of essential pre-employment checks.
• 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 well 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 suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Implement an effective system for identifying, disposing and replenishing of out-of-date stock.
• Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’. In particular, staff should follow decontamination processes and validation processes as outlined in current guidance.
• Improve the practice's systems for assessing, monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities. In particular, ensuring that essential electrical safety checks are completed.