We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 October 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 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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations
Background
J C Glassby dental practice is situated in the centre of Hull, Humberside. The practice only offers private treatment and includes preventative advice and routine restorative dental care.
The practice has one surgery, a decontamination room, an X-ray processing room, a waiting area and a reception area. Treatment and waiting rooms are all situation on the ground floor of the premises.
The practice is open on flexible days to best suit the patients' needs, between Monday – Friday 10:30 am – 17:30 pm and two Saturdays per year.
The practice owner 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.
During the inspection we spoke to three patients who used the service and we also reviewed 55 CQC comment cards. All the comments were positive about the staff and the services provided. Comments included: the practice was safe, hygienic and welcoming; staff were very friendly, helpful and caring and they were impressed with the services.
Our key findings were:
- Patients were treated with care, respect and dignity.
- There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us that they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions. Staff received training appropriate to their roles.
- There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
- Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
- Infection control procedures were in accordance with the published guidelines.
- The appointment system met patients’ needs
We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:
- Ensure the practice's protocols for completing dental care records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice in respect of clinical examinations and record keeping.
- Ensure audits of various aspects of the service, such as radiography and dental care records are undertaken at regular intervals to help improve the quality of service. The practice should also ensure all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
- Ensure the availability of medicines and equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
You can see full details of the regulations not being met at the end of this report.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Review the practice’s protocols for the taking of X-rays giving due regard to the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) guidance on the 'Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography'.
- Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking the-X-rays and reporting on the X-rays giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000.
- Provide easier accessibility to the complaints procedure through practice information leaflets and patient waiting room information.
- Record information in the patient records about preventative advice given in line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ (DBOH) toolit. – Evidence based tool kit used by dental teams for the prevention of dental disease in a primary and secondary care setting.