Oldbury Court Dental Centre

Updated 21 April 2016

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 22 December 2015. The inspection took place over one day. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector. They were supported by remote dental specialist advisor.

Before visiting, we reviewed the information received from the provider prior to the inspection including an action plan and some evidence of actions taken to address the breaches of regulation found at the last inspection. We also informed the local Healthwatch we were inspecting the practice; however we did not receive any information from them.

During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and staff records. We spoke with four patients, nine members of staff and the practice manager. We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment. We observed the dental nurses carrying out decontamination procedures of dental instruments and also observed staff interacting with patients in the waiting area.

Patients we spoke with were positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

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 21 April 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 December 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Oldbury Court Dental Centre is a dental practice providing NHS and some private dental treatment and caters for both adults and children. The practice is situated in the shopping area of Fishponds in Bristol. The practice has five dental treatment rooms, a reception and waiting area. Three of the treatment rooms are on the first floor and two on the ground floor along with other facilities enabling access for patients with limited mobility.

The practice has five dentists and five dental nurses who were supported by one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice’s opening hours are 8:30am – 5:30pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30am – 12:30pm on Fridays. For out of hours service patients are directed to ring 111.

At the previous inspection there was no registered manager. At this inspection we found a practice manager had been appointed to provide leadership in the practice and they were in the process of applying to be 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. However the practice did have an appointed practice manager but they were not present on the day of inspection.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 December 2015 to follow up on the breaches of regulation found at the last inspection on 27 October 2015. Following the last inspection we asked the provider to submit an action plan to us within 24 hours of the inspection identifying actions to address the requirement notices for the following regulations; 9 Person centred care; 10 Dignity and respect; 12 Safe care and treatment; 13 safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment; 17 Good governance; 18 Staffing; 19 Fit and proper persons employed. This announced inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a lead inspector with remote specialist dental advice. Following this inspection we found the service to be compliant with all relevant regulations.

We spoke with three adult patients and two children who used the service on the day of our inspection. The patients we spoke with were complimentary about the service. They told us they found the practice staff provided good care with explanations of treatment options and discussion; were friendly and welcoming and all patients felt they were treated with dignity and respect.

Our key findings were:

• The patients we spoke with indicated they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them. Common themes were patients felt they received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful and professional practice team. We observed good communication with patients and their families; access to the service and to the dentists, was good.
• There were systems in place to help ensure the safety of staff and patients. These included safeguarding children and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control and responding to medical emergencies.
• Appropriate recruitment processes and checks were undertaken in line with safer recruitment guidance for the protection of patients.

• Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development; had undertaken training appropriate to their roles and told us they felt well supported to carry out their work.

• The practice had an efficient appointment system in place to respond to patient’s needs. Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when required. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

• The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management processes in place; including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• The practice had a comprehensive system to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through a detailed programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.
• The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team with clear means of sharing information with staff.
• There were systems to check equipment had been serviced regularly, including the compressor, autoclave, fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and the X-ray equipment.