Corfe Mullen Dental Surgery

We carried out this announced inspection on 30 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.

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

Corfe Mullen Dental Surgery is in Wimborne and provides NHS and private dental treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including those for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes seven dentists, one lead dental nurse, seven dental nurses, two trainee dental nurses, one dental hygiene therapist, one administrator, one practice manager and five receptionists. The practice has six treatment rooms.

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 Corfe Mullen Dental Surgery is the principal dentist. A registered manager is legally responsible for the delivery of services for which the practice is registered

On the day of inspection, we collected 31 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with four other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with five dentists, one lead dental nurse, five dental nurses, two trainee dental nurses, one dental hygiene therapist, one administrator, three receptionists and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 8.00am to 4.40pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• Improvements could be made to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 file to ensure the safe use of materials,
• Improvements could be made to the servicing requirements for X-Ray equipment
• Supporting policies in accordance with the Information commissioner office requirements should be considered following the introduction of a closed circuit television system.
• The provider should review arrangements for antibiotic auditing.
• The provider should implement a central referral tracking system.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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.

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

• Improve the practice's processes for the control and storage of substances hazardous to health identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken and the products are stored securely.

• Improve the practice's protocols and procedures for the use of X-ray equipment in compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and taking into account the guidance for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment. In particular to ensure the servicing requirements for individual X ray equipment is completed and the evidence of this kept.

• Implement audits for the prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.

• Implement protocols for the use of closed circuit television cameras taking into account the guidelines published by the Information Commissioner's Office.

• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.