Updated 14 June 2021
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Elland Practice Limited on 5 May 2021. This inspection was carried out to review in detail the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a focused inspection of Elland Practice Limited on 4 December 2020 and 16 December 2020 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing safe or well led care and was in breach of regulations 12, 17 and 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Elland Practice Limited on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked:
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection in December 2020.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on in December 2020.
Background
Elland Practice Limited is in Elland, West Yorkshire and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. On street parking is available near the practice.
The dental team includes two dentists, three dental nurses and two receptionists. The practice has two treatment rooms, a third treatment room is under development.
The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Elland Practice Limited is the principal dentist.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one dental nurse and a receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday to Friday 9am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 5pm.
Our key findings were:
- Clinical areas appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained. Environmental cleaning and the monitoring of this had improved.
- The provider had implemented standard operating procedures in line with national guidance on COVID-19.
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available and there was appropriate checks in place.
- The provider had effective systems to help them identify and manage risk to patients and staff. In particular, radiography, fire, sharps, Legionella, hazardous substances and incident reporting.
- The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
- Staff recruitment procedures were in line with current legislation.
- The provider had established effective leadership and systems of governance, staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
- The provider had information governance arrangements. Arrangements for closed-circuit television (CCTV) were in line with legislation.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice's systems for checking and monitoring equipment taking into account relevant guidance and ensure that all equipment is well maintained. In particular, ensuring electrical safety recommendations are actioned in a timely way.