Updated 12 July 2021
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Smiles Dental & Cosmetic Care on 11 May 2021. 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 was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Smiles Dental & Cosmetic Care on 11 May 2021 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 regulation 13 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 Smiles Dental & Cosmetic Care on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked: Remove as appropriate:
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made some improvements regarding Safeguarding. We found insufficient evidence of improvement in other areas. The provider had not responded to other regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 07 August 2019.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made insufficient improvements to put right the shortfalls and had not responded to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 07 August 2019.
Background
Smiles Dental & Cosmetic Care is in Headcorn and provides private treatment for adults and children.
There is no level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice is situated on the first floor accessed by a flight of stairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes a dentist, a dental nurse and a receptionist. The practice has one treatment room.
The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They 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 spoke with the dentist, the dental nurse and the receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to 5pm
Our key findings were:
• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which did not reflect published guidance.
• The clinical staff did not provide patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines regarding Covid 19 guidance.
• Staff did not have sufficient knowledge on how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were not all available.
• The provider did not have sufficient systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had implemented safeguarding processes and staff were sure of their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider did not have staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• There was not a culture of continuous improvement.
We are mindful of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering a) when to inspect and b)what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.