Updated 23 February 2021
We undertook a follow up desk-based review of Hopwood Dental Practice on 11 January 2021. This review 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 review was led by a CQC inspector who had remote access to a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Hopwood Dental Practice on 22 August 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 safe and 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 Hopwood Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this review 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 and send us an action plan. We then review or 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 22 August 2019.
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 22 August 2019.
Background
Hopwood Dental Practice is in Lancashire and provides private treatment for adults and private and NHS treatment for children.
The premises are not accessible for people who use wheelchairs. Wheelchair users can be seen at the provider’s sister practice. On street parking is available near the practice.
The dental team includes three dentists, three dental nurses (one of which is the practice manager and one is the receptionist) and a part-time dental hygienist. The practice has three treatment rooms.
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 Hopwood Dental Practice is the principal dentist.
During the review we spoke with the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday and Friday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm
Our key findings were:
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Action had been taken to ensure the provision of all necessary life-saving equipment.
- Systems were introduced to receive and act on patient safety alerts.
- The systems to help identify and manage risk in relation to sharps, fire safety, Legionella, and validation of equipment were improved.
- The practice sought radiation protection advice and ensured the appropriate radiographic safety tests and protocols were in place.
- The provider reviewed staff recruitment procedures to ensure essential checks and thorough induction processes are carried out for any future employees.
- Evidence of vaccination history and immunity was obtained for clinical staff.
- Private and NHS prescription security and processes were improved.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Take action to ensure audits of infection prevention and control are completed accurately to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.