Updated 28 February 2024
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Northwood Dental Practice on 23 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 had remote access to a specialist dental advisor.
We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Northwood Dental Practice on 8 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 and 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 Northwood Dental Practice 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 8 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 8 September 2023.
Background
Northwood Dental Practice is in Northwood, in the London Borough of Hillingdon and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
There is level access to 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 specific needs.
There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.
The dental team includes the principal dentist, 2 associate dentists, 1 dental nurse, 3 trainee dental nurses, 1 dental hygienist, 1 practice manager and 1 receptionist. The practice has 2 treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, 1 associate dentist and 1 trainee dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Saturdays by appointment only.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Take action to ensure that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases. In particular, ensure that all members of the clinical team are vaccinated against Hepatitis B and have evidence of their response to the vaccination they received.
- Improve and develop staff awareness of autism and learning disabilities and ensure all staff receive appropriate training in this.