Archived: Beacon DentalCare

Updated 19 March 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by the CQC.

• The announced inspection was carried out on 18 December 2014 by a CQC inspector.
• Before the inspection we reviewed a range of information we held about the practice and asked other organisations to share what they knew.
• During the inspection we looked around the premises, interviewed a range of staff including the practice manager, dentists, dental hygienists, dental nurses and reception staff.
• We observed methods of working and reviewed documents including the treatment records for some patients.
• Before our inspection we provided comment cards and asked patients to share their views and experiences of the service. We reviewed 43 completed comment cards and we also spoke to two of these patients by telephone after our inspection.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 19 March 2015

Beacon Dental Care is a private practice located in Malvern Link and provides dental care services to people of all ages. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment, routine and restorative dental care, root canal treatment, tooth whitening, crown and bridge work and orthodontic treatments.

The practice is a converted residential property and has access for patients with limited mobility. It consists of a waiting room, known as the ‘lounge’ with adjacent reception area, a ground floor treatment room, two first floor treatment rooms, a decontamination room and a children’s waiting room known as ‘the Kidzone’ .

The practice team consisted of two dentists, a part time practice manager responsible for the all of the practice’s administration and governance, two receptionists and five dental nurses and a dental hygienist.

Before our inspection we provided comment cards and asked patients to share their views and experiences of the service. We reviewed 43 completed comment cards and we also spoke to two of these patients by telephone after our inspection. The feedback received in comment cards was very complimentary of the practice and the care that was provided by staff. People told us that the environment was clean, that they could access the service in an emergency and that they felt fully informed about their care and treatment.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had effective arrangements to ensure patients received appropriate care in a safe and well led environment.
• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current practice guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and other published guidance.
• The practice had safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• Staff working at the practice had the appropriate skills and knowledge to support patients and treated them in a caring and understanding manner.

There were also areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Develop structured arrangements for reporting, recording and monitoring adverse incidents.

Ensure that information available for staff about the control of substances hazardous to health is tailored to the specific products used at the practice.