Archived: J M Dobbs - Wells Street

Updated 24 May 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who had access to remote advice from a specialist advisor.

We informed local NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice; however we did not receive any information of concern from them.

During the inspection we received feedback from 49 patients. We also spoke with the dentist, two dental nurses and the practice manager. To assess the quality of care provided we looked at practice policies and protocols and other records relating to the management of the service.

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 24 May 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 12 April 2016 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 providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

J M Dobbs - Wells Street is situated in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has two surgeries, a decontamination room, a waiting area and a reception area. The reception area, waiting area and one surgery are on the ground floor. The other surgery is on the first floor.

There was one dentist, three dental nurses who also cover reception duties and a practice manager.

The opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9-30am to 5-30pm.

The practice owner is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. 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 received feedback from 49 patients. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included that the staff were friendly and welcoming. Patients also commented that the service was first class, the procedures were well explained and that the premises was always clean.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and hygienic.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection control, fire and health and safety.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Dental care records showed that treatment was planned in line with current best practice guidelines.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including risks and benefits.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.

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

• Review the availability of equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK).
• Review the practice’s procedure for the checking of the emergency oxygen cylinder.
• Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.
• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking of an X-ray giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000.
• Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members.
• Review its audit protocols to ensure that improvements can be demonstrated as part of the audit process.