Updated 1 February 2024
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Whitnash Dental Care on 3 January 2024. This inspection was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.
We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Whitnash Dental Care on 19 September 2023 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing safe or well-led care and was in breach of regulations 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Whitnash Dental Care on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When 1 or more of the 5 questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.
As part of this inspection we asked:
- Is it safe?
- Is it well-led?
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 19 September 2023.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 19 September 2023.
Background
Whitnash Dental Care is in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
A portable ramp is used to access the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.
The dental team includes 1 dentist, 2 dental nurses and 2 receptionists. The practice has 1 treatment room.
During the inspection we spoke with 1 dentist (the provider), 1 dental nurse and 1 receptionist. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.
The practice is open: Monday from 9am to 6pm, Tuesday to Thursday from 8.30am to 6pm and Friday from 8.30am to 1pm. The practice is closed each day for lunch from 1pm to 2pm.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice’s systems for environmental cleaning taking into account current national specifications for cleanliness in the NHS and taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices.
- Improve the practice's processes for the control and storage of substances hazardous to health identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken and the products are stored securely.