Updated 11 July 2018
We carried out an announced follow-up inspection at The Smile Centre (UK) Limited on 13 June 2018.
We had undertaken an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on the 27 March 2018 as part of our regulatory functions where a breach of legal requirements was found.
After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. We checked whether they had followed their action plan to confirm that they now met the legal requirements.
We reviewed the practice against two of the five questions we ask about services: are the services safe and well led? You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Smile Centre (UK) Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
We revisited The Smile Centre (UK) Limited as part of this review and checked whether they now met the legal requirements. We carried out this announced inspection on 13 June 2018 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 provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services well-led?
We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
The Smile Centre (UK) Limited is in the Whitefield area of Manchester and provides private dental treatment to adults.
There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. A ground floor surgery is available but this is only suitable for patients requiring denture work. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.
The dental team includes two dentists, two dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), a treatment coordinator, a receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two 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. At the time of the inspection the practice did not have a registered manager in post.
During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses, 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 to Thursday from 9:00am to 7:00pm
Friday from 9:00am to 12:30pm
Our key findings were:
- Improvements had been made to the process for reporting significant events.
- Improvements had been made to the process for managing risks associated with fire, Legionella and non-responders to Hepatitis B.
- Improvements had been made to the processes for auditing infection prevention and control minor improvements still needed to be made.
- Some of the issues with the X-ray machine had been addressed. One issue was still outstanding.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Review the practice's protocols and procedures for the use of X-ray equipment in compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and taking into account the guidance for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment.
- Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of infection prevention and control have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.