Updated 7 April 2020
We carried out this announced inspection on 18 February 2020 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 Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser and an inspection manager.
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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services effective?
We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services caring?
We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services responsive?
We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
The Spencer Road Dental Surgery is in Coventry and provides 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 in the practice car park.
The dental team includes one dentist, four dental nurses, two dental hygienists and a practice manager. All the dental nurses also carry out reception duties. The practice has two treatment rooms and a separate room for carrying out the decontamination of instruments.
The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 The Spencer Road Dental Surgery is the principal dentist.
On the day of inspection, we collected 30 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with one other patient.
During the inspection we spoke with the 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 from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
Our key findings were:
- The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
- The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
- The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
- The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
- The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements were needed to ensure complete immunisation records were available for all clinical staff members.
- The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
- Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
- Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
- The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
- The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
- The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
- The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
- The provider had information governance arrangements.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Take action to ensure the suitability of the premises and ensure all areas are fit for the purpose for which they are being used. In particular, ensuring that the fixed wiring electrical safety test and gas safety checks are completed in a timely manner.