Updated 14 January 2020
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of The Dental Care Clinic on 12 December 2019.
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 remote access to a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of The Dental Care Clinic on 28 May 2019 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 well led care and was in breach of regulations 17 and 19 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 The Dental Care Clinic on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked:
• Is it well-led?
When one or more of the five 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.
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 28 May 2019.
Background
The Dental Care Clinic is in Newcastle upon Tyne and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.
There is level access to the practice and car parking spaces are available near-by.
The dental team includes the principal dentist, ten associate dentists, 16 dental nurses, a treatment co-ordinator and two dental hygienists. Reception duties are carried out by the dental nurses and the treatment co-ordinator. A practice manager and a deputy practice manager oversee the day to day running of the practice. The practice has eight treatment rooms over two floors.
The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at The Dental Care Clinic was the practice manager.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and the practice managers. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday and Tuesday 8.30am to 7.20pm
Wednesday 8.30am to 5.10pm
Thursday 8.30am to 6.20pm
Friday 8.30am to 4.20pm
Our key findings were:
- The practice had effective leadership with improved systems to allow for continuous improvement.
- Risks to patients and staff were reviewed, assessed and managed in relation to fire, Legionella, hazardous substances, electrical appliance safety, lone working, radiation protection, and carrying out domiciliary care.
- The provider had improved their staff recruitment procedures and systems to monitor staff training.
- Medical emergency drugs and equipment were now available in line with recognised guidance. The provider had improved their systems to monitor these.
- Improvements were found in the practice’s implant audit processes.
- Prescriptions were monitored in line with national recommendations.
- The provider had assessed the needs of patients with disabilities to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
- The practice reviewed their infection control procedures and protocols for the use of a closed-circuit television system.