Archived: Mr James Alan Clarke - Rowlandson Terrace

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 July 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

The practice is a small family run part-time service. There is one dentist and one dental nurse who also undertakes reception duties.

The practice provides general dental services and to about 400 private patients.

The practice is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to 5pm.

The dentist is the registered provider for the practice. 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.

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.

We reviewed three comment cards on which patients provided feedback about the service. All the comments were positive about the staff and the services provided. Patients commented that the practice was clean, they found staff friendly and the treatment was excellent.

Our key findings were:

• The practice recorded complaints and cascaded learning to staff.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and confidentiality was maintained.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.
• Infection control procedures were in place in accordance with the published guidelines but not all procedures had been followed.
• The governance systems were not effective in all areas.

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

• Establish an effective system to assess, monitor and mitigate the risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of patients, staff and others who may be at risk which arise from the carrying on of the regulated activity.
• Maintain an accurate, complete and contemporaneous record in respect of each patient, including a record of the care and treatment provided to the patient and of decisions taken in relation to the care and treatment provided.

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

• Ensure the practice complaints procedure is displayed in accordance with General Dental Council (GDC) document ‘Standards for the dental team’.
• Ensure that their policies and procedures are regularly updated.