Archived: Dr Andre Louw - Williton Also known as Stoneleigh House Dental Practice

Updated 10 December 2015

We inspected this practice on 5 November 2015. Our inspection team was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) lead Inspector who had access to remote advice from a specialist advisor.

We informed organisations such as NHS England’s locality team and Healthwatch Somerset that we were inspecting the practice; we did not receive any information of concern from them. We asked the provider to send us information about their practice and to tell us about the things they did well. The information provided was used to inform the inspection. We reviewed the information for patients on the practices website and on the NHS Choices website.

We spoke with five patients and interviewed staff working in the practice during the inspection. We carried out observations throughout the period of our inspection and reviewed documents the practice produced as part of their quality assurance processes and day to day management of their business.

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 patient’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection. Aspects of the practice we looked at included; how the practice provided patient-centred treatment; treated patients with dignity and respect; gained consent; provided safe care and treatment; safeguarding patients from abuse and improper treatment; maintained suitable premises and equipment; how they received and acted on complaints; maintained good governance and supported and recruited staff.

Updated 10 December 2015

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 5 November 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Stoneleigh House Dental Practice provides general NHS dentistry and some private dental services to patients living in Williton and the surrounding villages. The practice has patients from a wide rural catchment area surrounding Williton, as well as from Minehead and villages nearer to Taunton with some patients travelling long distances to attend appointments. The practice is located on the ground floor of a prominent local property close to the main shopping area of Williton, with parking close by. The dental treatment and hygienist rooms are on the ground floor and there is a separate decontamination room.

The practice has three treatment rooms including a dental hygienist area. The practice employs three dentists who are supported by three dental nurses; one of the dental nurses is a trainee. The dental teams are supported by a practice manager and a receptionist. An area manager oversees this practice and two other practices owned by the provider. The practice is open from 8:30am until 5:00 pm Monday to Friday. The practice has their own website which provides information about the opening times and the services they provide.

The main dentist 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.

We spoke with five patients who provided feedback about the service during our inspection. We also received comment cards from 14 patients. The patients we spoke with and the comments we received were all very positive about the treatment they received. Similarly positive comments were made about the caring, helpful, kind and professional nature of all staff in the practice. Patients commented they felt the dentists took time to explain their required treatment and involved them in their treatment and decision making.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems and processes in place which ensured patients were protected from abuse and avoidable harm by a skilled staff team.
• Patients’ treatment and support achieved positive outcomes, promoted a good quality dental care and was based on the most recently available guidance and evidence.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Services were organised so that they meet patients’ needs and were flexible enough to accommodate emergency appointments each day.
• The leadership, management and governance of the organisation supported the delivery of high-quality patient centred treatment, supported additional learning and promoted an open and fair culture.