12 July 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We carried out this unannounced focused inspection on 12 July 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 as this was a focussed inspection, we only inspected against the key question:
• Is it well-led?
Our findings were:
- Information governance arrangements at the practice did not fully support patient privacy.
Background
Blue Sky Dental Care is in Darwen, Blackburn 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 are available near the practice.
The dental team includes two dentists, five dental nurses, one of whom is a trainee, a dental therapist, a dental nurse/receptionist, and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with the Principal Dentist, who is the registered provider of this service. We looked at practice policies and procedures, in relation to information governance, use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open: Monday to Friday from 9am to 5.30pm. The practice closes for lunch between 12.30pm and 2pm.
We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:
- Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care
Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.