Mark Kent Dental Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations and had taken into consideration appropriate guidance.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

The judgement for Assessing needs is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The provider had systems to ensure that people who used the service received person-centred care and treatment, that was appropriate, met their needs and was reflective of their personal preferences. Preventive oral health care was encouraged.

We looked at 5 patient care records. The information recorded in these patient care records was not always in line with recognised guidance. Improvements were required to ensure the dentist recorded assessments of cancer, periodontal and caries risk, treatment options, details of consent taken and consistently justified, graded and reported on the radiographs they took.

Staff obtained patients’ consent for treatment in line with legislation and guidance and understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff described how they involved patients’ relatives or carers when appropriate and made sure they had enough time to explain treatment options clearly.

The practice had systems for prescribing medicines in line with current guidance. Improvements could be made to strengthen the monitoring of antimicrobial prescribing. The practice did not have an antimicrobial prescribing log in place, and prescribing was not consistently aligned with current guidance. Where prescribing deviated from guidance, the clinical rationale was not clearly documented in patient records. Following the inspection the provider told us that a log of antimicrobial prescribing had been set up and that future prescribing would align with current guidance.

Patients were referred to primary and secondary care specialists for treatment the practice did not provide. This included referring patients with suspected cancer under the national faster diagnosis pathways.

Staff felt the practice supported them to develop and enabled them to take on responsibilities. One staff member told us, “All the staff are encouraged and supported in every role they play in the efficient running of the surgery.”

The judgement for How staff, teams and services work together is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Supporting people to live healthier lives is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Monitoring and improving outcomes is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Consent to care and treatment is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.