• Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: Langdon Hills Dental Care

1 Alpha House, High Road, Basildon, Essex, SS16 6HG

Provided and run by:
Mr Vishal Patel & Mr Viraj Patel

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile
Important: The provider of this service changed - see old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Overall inspection

Updated 6 August 2019

We carried out this announced inspection on 24 June 2019 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.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• 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 effective?

We found that this practice was 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 providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Langdon Hills Dental Care is in Basildon, Essex and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, five dental nurses, two dental hygienists, one receptionist and a visiting prosthodontist. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership 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 Langdon Hills Dental Care was the one of the dentist partners.

On the day of inspection, we collected 11 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, one dental nurse, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and the registered manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday from 8am to 7pm.

Tuesday from 9am to 7pm.

Wednesday from 8am to 5pm.

Thursday from 8am to 5pm.

Friday from 7am to 5pm.

Saturday from 8am to 12pm.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. The practice could not confirm if the glucagon had been maintained at the correct temperature, they took action to replace this immediately.
  • The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
  • The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
  • The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
  • The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures. Hepatitis B immunity and risk assessment for non-responders were not in place for some staff. The practice took immediate action to complete the risk assessment and obtain immunity records.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines. There was scope for greater detail in dental records regarding intra oral and extra oral examinations, basic periodontal examinations and risk assessments.
  • There was a lack of consistency across dental care records with regard to the recording of the use, or lack of use of dental dam.
  • Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
  • The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
  • The practice staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
  • The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements. The registered manager took immediate action the day of our inspection to address some of the minor issues identified during our inspection, demonstrating their commitment to providing a good service.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

  • Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment taking into account guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.
  • Review the need to effectively record caries/periodontal/cancer risks within patients’ dental care records, taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.
  • Review the current staffing arrangements to ensure all dental care professionals are adequately supported by a trained member of the dental team when treating patients in a dental setting taking into account the guidance issued by the General Dental Council.
  • Review the practice's protocols for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.
  • Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
  • Review the practice's Legionella risk assessment and implement any recommended actions, taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’ In particular ensure a more robust system is in place for obtaining and testing sentinel water temperatures.