Corbets Tey Dental Practice

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 5 May 2022 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 practice was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

• The dental clinic appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation; however, this was not consistently followed when recruiting new members of staff.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Improvements were needed in relation to the practice governance arrangements.
• Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available; however, improvements were needed to the current quality assurance process.
• There were arrangements to assess and mitigate risks of fire at the practice, however, the provider did not maintain records to demonstrate fire drills were carried out.
• Dental care records we looked at were not completed in line with national guidance.

Background

Corbets Tey Dental Practice is in Upminster in the London Borough of Havering. They provide mainly NHS and some private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

The practice operates from a high street property which was converted to accommodate a dental practice. The practice is located on the first floor of the building via a flight of stairs which leads from the ground floor. This means there is no level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice has good links to local transportation service including London Overground Rail. It does not have a car park, however, there is enough permit free parking on surrounding streets.

The dental team includes the principal dentist, a dental nurse and a receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the whole team. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm. Outside of these hours, patients are directed to NHS 111 for emergency care and treatment.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry when completing dental care records.
• Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.
• Take action to ensure the clinicians carry out patient assessments and ensure they are in compliance with current legislation and take into account relevant nationally recognised evidence-based guidance.