Archived: Mr Michael Dewar

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 11 February 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 not 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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Mr Michael Dewar is situated in the Darnall area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has one surgery, a decontamination room, a waiting area and a reception area. The reception area, waiting area and the surgery are on the ground floor of the premises.

There was one dentist, one dental nurses and a practice manager (who also worked on the reception desk).

The opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9-00am to 12-30pm and from 1-45pm to 4-30pm.

The owner of the practice is the registered provider for the practice. 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.

During the inspection we received feedback from 32 patients. The patients were all positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included that the staff were friendly and helpful. Patients also commented that the surgery was clean and they felt safe.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and hygienic.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• The practice had some systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention, control and health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• The practice was very responsive and accommodating to the needs of the local community.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The staff worked well as a team.

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

• Ensure that patients’ oral health including gum disease and dental decay is appropriately monitored in line with the Faculty of General Dental Practice guidelines.
• Ensure audits of X-rays are undertaken at regular intervals to monitor and where necessary improve the quality of service.

You can see full details of the regulations not being met at the end of this report.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s procedure for completing the Infection Prevention Society audit so that improvements can be identified.
• Review the practice’s protocols for the checking of the emergency oxygen cylinder and the automated external defibrillator.
• Review the practice’s protocols for quality assurance checks on the developer solution when it is changed to confirm the developing process is effective.
• Review the practice's protocols for completion of dental records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping.
• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking the X-ray and quality of the X-ray giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000.
• Review the practice’s protocols for recording the type and dose of local anaesthetic used.
• Arrange for a Legionella risk assessment to be undertaken by a competent person.
• Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.
• Review the practice's process for undertaking audits of dental care records.