Archived: The Tooth Team

We carried out this announced inspection on 19 August 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

The Tooth Team is in Holsworthy, Devon and provides private treatment to adults and children.

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

The dental team includes one dentist, two dental nurses and one dental hygienist. The practice has one treatment room.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected four CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the owner/dentist and one dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday 8.30am -1.30pm.

Tuesday 9am – 5pm.

Wednesday 12pm – 5pm.

Thursday 1pm – 6pm.

Friday 11am – 4pm.

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, although some areas for improvement were identified.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect.
• The clinical staff provided safe and effective patient care and treatment, but further improvements could be made to ensure a knowledge base is in line with current Faculty guidelines.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership.
• 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 practice had not received any complaints in the last 12 months.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

• Review the fire safety risk assessment and ensure that any actions required are completed and ongoing fire safety management is effective.

• Review the practice’s system for identifying, disposing and replenishing of out-of-date dental material stock.

• Review the practice protocols regarding audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines, taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

• Review the practice’s protocols and procedures for promoting the maintenance of good oral health, taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health publication ‘Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention.’