Archived: Whitehouse Dental Surgery

Our concerns with the safety, availability and suitability of equipment mostly focussed on the safety of the x-ray machines in the dental practice.

Since the inspection of July 2014 a new provider had taken over the day to day management of Daybrook Dental Surgery and changed the name to White House Dental Care.

The new provider had carried out extensive refurbishment to the building, and had introduced new policies and procedures for managing infection control and checking equipment.

On this occasion we did not speak with any patients but concentrated on policies procedures and equipment.

Since our last inspection on 17 July 2014 new providers had taken ownership of Daybrook Dental Surgery Limited. The new providers had bought the company and therefore were responsible for addressing the concerns raised through our enforcement action.

We did not speak with any patients during our visit.

The entire building had been completely refurbished. There was a new floor plan and layout to the building. New equipment had been supplied, and new policies and procedures had been introduced. We saw that a series of clinical and non-clinical audits were taking place. We also saw that there had been a review of all members of staff's training requirements, with updated training having taken place.

All of the concerns raised during our enforcement process had been addressed by the provider

We spoke with two patients who said they were very happy and that they received good dental care and treatment. Neither patient said they had any concerns whatsoever about any aspect of their dental treatment or care.

We found that the dental surgery was not following the Health and Social Care Act (2008) 'Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.' This is a piece of guidance which indicates steps practices can take to ensure infections are not passed between patients and staff. We also found the systems in place did not always work effectively and as a result patients and staff were potentially at risk of acquiring infections.

Our checks demonstrated that medicines were managed safely and effectively and in a way which protected patients from harm.

We identified problems with some of the equipment at the dental surgery. We could not be assured that the checks in place had identified the risks associated with that equipment.

There were shortcomings with the systems and processes in place to assess and monitoring the quality of the service. The provider could not be assured of the safety or efficiency of the dental surgery.

We received information on the 10 January 2014 that demonstrated there were systems in place to ensure the appropriate checks were taking place and the practice was safe.

Patients told us they were satisfied with the service they received. One patient said, 'My dentist tells me about the treatment I will receive during my visit.' Another patient said, 'We always discuss any treatment before he (the dentist) starts.'

When asked patients said they were treated with dignity and respect. One patient told us they had been coming to the practice for years, they said, 'It has a great family atmosphere, the staff are great.'

We found the practice to be calm and relaxed. Patients told us they found it easy to make an appointment and staff said they always like to accommodate patients where ever possible.

We found the practice to be clean and tidy.

We saw copies of information, which was made available for patients use, situated in the waiting and separate reception areas. A member of staff told us they gave people a copy of the practice leaflet which explained how the surgery was run.