Archived: Fern Cottage Dental Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 6 October 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Fern Cottage Dental Practice is situated in the Hoyland area of Barnsley. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice, treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has three surgeries (one of which is not used), a decontamination room, a waiting areas and a reception area. Treatment and waiting rooms are on the ground floor of the premises.

There are three dentists, four dental nurses and two receptionists.

The opening hours are Monday 9-00am to 5-00pm, Tuesday 9-00am to 6-30pm and Wednesday to Friday 8-30am to 5-00pm.

The practice owner is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons 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 three patients who used the service and reviewed 25 completed CQC comment cards. Patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards were positive about the care they received about the service.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention and control, health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• Patients told us they were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood. Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us that they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions. Staff received training appropriate to their roles.

There were areas where the registered provider could make improvements and should:

• Implement a stock checking system to ensure that materials which have passed their expiry date are removed from the surgery