The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

St George's Dental Practice

8-9 Upper Bridge Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2NA (01227) 450300

Provided and run by:
Mr. Richard Browne

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

We carried out this on-site unannounced assessment on 01 October 2024

We found the practice had met regulations.

Recruitment procedures reflected current legislation and there was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.

Patients were treated with dignity and respect and at the time of our assessment, could access care, support and treatment when required.

Patients’ care and treatment was provided in line with current guidance and infection control procedures were in place.

The practice had systems to manage risks.



The practice is in Canterbury Kent and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There was step free access to the practice and car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, were available near the practice.

The practice had 4 treatment rooms. During the assessment we spoke with a dentist, 2 trainee dental nurses, a receptionist, the administrator and the practice manager.

27 May 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up focused inspection of St George’s Dental Practice on 27 May 2022. This inspection was carried out to review in detail 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 access to a specialist dental adviser.

We undertook a focused inspection of St George’s Dental Practice on 04 May 2022 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, effective and well led care and was in breach of regulations 12, Safe care and treatment, 17, Good governance and 19, Fit and proper persons employed 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 St George’s dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• 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 27 May 2022.

Are services effective?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 27 May 2022

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 27 May 2022.

Background

St George’s Dental Practice is in Canterbury 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 people with disabilities, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, one registered dental nurse, who is the practice manager and two trainee dental nurses. The practice has four treatment rooms, one of which on the ground floor is decommissioned; therefore, access for wheelchair users is not currently available.

During the inspection we spoke with a dentist, a dental nurse , and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

9am to 5pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday

9am to 6pm Wednesday and Thursday

04 May 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this unannounced focused inspection on 04 May 2022 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered practice was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment,

we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

  • The dental clinic did not appear to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which did not reflect published guidance.
  • Not all staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Not all the appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was available.
  • The practice did not have sufficient systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
  • Safeguarding processes were not in place and not all the staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures which did not reflect current legislation.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
  • There was ineffective leadership and improvements were required regarding the clinical audit cycle.
  • Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
  • Staff and patients were not currently asked for feedback about the services provided, although complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
  • The dental clinic had information governance arrangements.

Background

The provider is an individual and this report is about St Georges Dental Practice.

St Georges Dental Practice is in Canterbury 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 people with disabilities, are available near the practice. The ground floor treatment room was currently not in use.

The dental team includes four dentists, one registered dental nurse, who is the practice manager, and three trainee dental nurses who share reception duties. The practice has four treatment rooms, three on the first floor and one on the ground floor that is not in use.

During the inspection we spoke with a dentist, two trainee dental nurses, and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

9am to 5pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday

9am to 6pm Wednesday and Thursday

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

  • Care and treatment must be provided in a safe way for service users.
  • Systems or processes must be established and operated effectively to ensure compliance with the requirements of the fundamental standards as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
  • Persons employed for the purposes of carrying on a regulated activity must be fit and proper persons.

Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

  • Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.

8 March 2016

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 08 March 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

St George’s Dental Practice is a practice located in the city of Canterbury and comprises of a reception and waiting room on the ground floor, four treatment rooms, one on the ground floor and three on the first floor, an office, storage and a staff area. The practice is accessible for patients with disabilities at the front entrance.

The practice provides general dental treatment to NHS patients of all ages.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 6.00pm, Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturdays 9am to 1pm.

The practice is staffed by three dentists, a practice manager, a clinical manager, four dental nurses, one of whom is the senior nurse and three student nurses and two receptionists.

The head nurse is 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.

Five people provided feedback on CQC comment cards about the services provided. Every comment was very positive about the staff and the service. Patients commented that the practice was clean, hygienic and modern and they found the staff friendly, considerate and caring. They had trust in the staff and confidence in the dental treatments and said that they were alwaysgiven clear, detailed and understandable explanations about dental treatment. Several patients commented that the dentists put patients at ease, have their patient’s best interests at heart and listen carefully.

Our key findings were:

• The practice recorded and analysed significant events, incidents and complaints and cascaded learning to staff.

• Staff had received safeguarding training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.

• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.

• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and emergency medicines and

equipment were readily available.

• Premises and equipment were clean, secure and properly maintained.

• Infection control procedures were in place and the practice followed published guidance.

• Staff were supported to deliver effective care and opportunities for training and learning were available.

• Clinical staff were up to date with their continuing professional development and met the requirements of their professional registration.

• Patient’s care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence-based guidelines and current practice and legislation.

• 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.

11 February 2014

During a routine inspection

All of the patients with whom we spoke gave us positive feedback about the practice. All said that the quality of care was very high and that staff had the skills and experience to meet their needs and provide a good service. We ask a range of questions about the quality of the service provided and all comments made were very positive with no concerns raised.

Patients that we spoke with told us that they were encouraged to make independent decisions about their dental needs; and were offered a choice of treatment options and gave consent. One patient told us "Yes everything is explained". Another said "The dentist asks for consent to any treatment before it starts".

Patients we spoke with said "Yes I am very happy". One patient told us 'I have been coming here for years, I am very happy".

Although the practice was clean there were no records to show that a risk assessment was in place to help ensure and maintain good standards of hygiene as required by the Health Technical Memoranda 01-05: Decontamination in primary dental care practices (HTM 01-05).

The practice enabled patients to give feedback following a consultation. Regular patient satisfaction feedback forms had also been collected and encouraged to be completed to enable the practice to monitor the quality of care. Regular health and safety audits and checks were also in place.

29 March 2012

During a routine inspection

St George's Dental Practice provides general dentistry such as treating tooth decay and gum disease, restorative dentistry such as crowns and bridges and cosmetic dentistry including veneers and teeth whitening. The practice treated patients funded both by the NHS and privately. On the ground floor there was the reception lounge, a treatment room and patients' toilets. There were three more treatment rooms on the first floor access to which was by stairs. The practice is close the centre of Canterbury.