Updated 18 February 2022
We undertook a focused follow up inspection of Invisibrace on 20 January 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 was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Invisibrace on 6 September 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 regulations 12 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 Invisibrace on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked:
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.
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 6 September 2021.
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 6 September 2021.
Background
Invisibrace is in Surbiton in the London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
The practice is located close to public transport links and car parking spaces are available near the practice.
The dental team includes a principal orthodontist, one dentist, two dental nurses, one hygienist, one orthodontic therapist, a business manager, a marketing coordinator, a receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with 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:
Monday – Saturday: 9:15pm - 5:30pm
(Open 2 Saturdays per month)
Our key findings were:
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Improvements had been made to ensure appropriate life-saving equipment and medicines were available as recommended. A monitoring system had been introduced to ensure emergency medicines were within the use-by date.
- Improvements had been made to ensure risks to staff and patients from undertaking of the regulated activities had been identified and mitigated. For example, in relation to the handling of dental sharps, the storage and handling of substances hazardous to health, fire safety and the management of Legionella.
- The provider had staff recruitment procedures. Improvements had been made to ensure that checks were carried out consistently for all staff at the time of recruitment and records were available.
- Systems were in place to ensure facilities were safe and equipment was serviced and maintained according to manufacturers’ guidance.
- Arrangements were in place to monitor staff training and development needs and to ensure ‘highly recommended’ training was carried out.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Review stocks of medicines and equipment and the practice's system for identifying, disposing and replenishing of out-of-date stock. The practice had implemented a system however further monitoring was needed to ensure this was fully effective.