The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Chester Road Dental Practice

118 Chester Road, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 4AN (01606) 74927

Provided and run by:
Mr Edward William Wills

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

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

We undertook a follow-up on-site inspection on 22 October 2025. This was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to assess whether the practice was meeting legal requirements.

We had previously undertaken an announced on-site inspection of Chester Road Dental Practice on 30 January 2025. We had found the registered provider was not providing well-led care and was in breach of Regulation 17 Good governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

During our follow-up inspection, we found the practice had not met all regulations.

Improvements were needed to the leadership and oversight to ensure a culture of continuous improvement is embedded.

Improvements were required to ensure risks are managed effectively. In particular, ensuring recommendations from the fire risk assessment and radiation reports are acted upon in a timely manner.

Antibiotic prescribing was not consistently in line with current guidance.

However, improvements had been made to the oversight of staff recruitment and training documentation.

Improvements had been made to the system for ensuring policies and procedures were up to date and reflective of practice protocols.

Patients were treated with dignity and respect and at the time of our assessment, could access care, support and treatment when required.

Chester Road Dental Practice is in Northwich and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There was step-free access to the practice and car parking was available near the practice.

The practice had 5 treatment rooms. At the time of inspection there were 21 staff. During the assessment we spoke with 2 dental nurses, and the clinical manager (who was also a dental nurse).

The service provides surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments, some of which are not in scope of regulation and were not covered in our inspection.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are within the body of the report.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

During an assessment under our new approach

We carried out this announced on-site assessment on 30 January 2025.

We found the practice had not met all regulations.

Improvements were needed to the leadership and oversight to ensure a culture of continuous improvement is embedded.

Improvements were needed to the governance systems to ensure they were reflective of the practice protocols and consistently followed.

Although recruitment procedures reflected current legislation, improvements were needed to ensure these were consistently followed.

The practice’s systems to manage risk were not always effective. In particular, risks associated with fire, legionella and radiation.

Medicines dispensing and prescriptions were not consistently managed in line with current guidance.

Improvements were required to ensure the practice responded to concerns and complaints appropriately and consistently followed their complaints procedure.

However, patients were treated with dignity and respect and at the time of our assessment, could access care, support and treatment when required.

Patients’ care and treatment was provided in line with current guidance.

The service provides surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments, some of which are not in scope of regulation and were not covered in our assessment.

Chester Road Dental Practice is in Northwich and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There was step-free access to the practice and car parking was available near the practice.

The practice had 5 treatment rooms. At the time of assessment there were 21 staff. During the assessment we spoke with 2 dentists, 1 dental nurse, 1 dental therapist, the practice manager and the clinical manager (who was also a dental nurse).

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are within the body of the report.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.