Archived: One Dental Care

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 24 September 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

The One Dental Care practice is located in the London Borough of Bromley. The premises are laid out over two floors with three treatment rooms, a dedicated decontamination room, waiting room with reception area, staff room, and toilet.

The practice provides private dental services and treats both adults and children. The practice offers a range of dental services including routine examinations and treatment, veneers, crowns and bridges, and oral hygiene.

The staff structure of the practice is comprised of a principal dentist (who is also the owner), three associate dentists, one hygienist, three dental nurses, a practice manager and a receptionist.

The practice opening hours are from Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm and on Saturday from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

This is an established practice which changed ownership and registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January 2015. It has not been inspected since this change in ownership. The principal dentist was the registered manager at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC 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.

The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a CQC inspector and dentist specialist advisor.

Twelve people provided feedback about the service. Patients were positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

Our key findings were:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with current guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• There were effective systems in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.

• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• Equipment, such as the air compressor, autoclave (steriliser), fire extinguishers, and X-ray equipment had all been checked for effectiveness and had been regularly serviced.

• Patients indicated that they felt they were listened to and that they received good care from a helpful and caring practice team.

• The practice had implemented clear procedures for managing comments, concerns or complaints.

• Governance arrangements and audits were effective in improving the quality and safety of the services.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records, or elsewhere, the reason for taking the X-ray and quality of the X-ray giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IRMER) 2000.

• Review the system of stock checks to ensure that out-of-date products are disposed of in a timely manner.
• Review and embed the use of staff appraisals as part of a system for identifying staff concerns and ensuring that staff remain skilled and competent in their role.