• Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: 12 Queen Street

Hammond House, 12 Queen Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 2PJ (01206) 576117

Provided and run by:
Queen Street Surgery Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 4 November 2016

The inspection was carried out on 22 July 2016 and was led by a CQC inspector. The inspection team also included a dental specialist advisor.

The methods that were used to collect information at the inspection included interviewing patients and staff, observations and reviewing documents.

During the inspection we spoke with one of dentist partners, one associate dentist, two dental nurses and three patients. We reviewed policies, procedures and other records relating to the management of the service. We reviewed 13 completed Care Quality Commission comment cards.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Overall inspection

Updated 4 November 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 July 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The practice is located within a renovated property in Colchester Town and offers NHS primary care dentistry and private dental treatments to adult patients and children.

The practice is open and offers appointments for NHS patients between 9am and 4pm on Mondays to Fridays. Patients who pay privately for dental care and treatments can access appointments between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday and between 8am and 6pm on alternate Saturdays. The practice is closed between 1pm and 2pm for lunch each day.

The dental practice is managed by two dentist partners. The practice employs one associate dentist, three dental nurses, one hygienist who works on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and one receptionist.

At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run. Health and social care providers who are not registered as individuals are required to have a registered manager.

The practice has three treatment rooms, a waiting room and a reception area. Decontamination takes place in a dedicated decontamination room (Decontamination is the process by which dirty and contaminated instruments are bought from the treatment room, washed, inspected, sterilised and sealed in pouches ready for use again).

We left comment cards at the practice for the two weeks preceding the inspection. 13 people provided feedback about the service in this way. All of the comments spoke highly of the dental care and treatment that they received and the professional attitude, kindness and understanding of the dentists and dental nurses.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice had systems in place for investigating and learning from safety incidents or accidents. Some staff were unaware of their responsibilities to report incidents.
  • The practice was visibly clean and clutter free. However Infection control practices were not audited to test their effectiveness.
  • There were a number of systems in place to help keep people safe, including safeguarding vulnerable children and adults. The practice had a health and safety policy in place and risks to the health and safety of staff and patients had been assessed.
  • The procedures in place to ensure that conscious sedation techniques were carried out safely were not in line with current guidelines.
  • Medicines and equipment for use in the event of a medical emergency were not in line with current guidelines.
  • Some staff did not have updated training in respect of their roles and responsibilities within the practice.
  • Patients reported that they were treated with respect and that staff were polite and helpful.
  • Patients were involved in making decisions about their care and treatments.
  • The practice provided a flexible appointments system and could normally arrange a routine appointment within a few days or emergency appointments mostly on the same day.
  • There were limited governance arrangements in place for the smooth running of the service.
  • Patient’s views were sought however these were not routinely used to make improvements to the service where these were identified.

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

  • Ensure an effective system is established to assess, monitor and mitigate the various risks arising from undertaking of the regulated activities. This includes implementing and maintaining effective systems for investigating and learning from complaints, accidents and other incidents, reviewing and monitoring infection control practices, auditing infection control practices and X-rays in line with current guidance, monitoring staff training and development.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Review staff records so that they include details of training and appraisal.
  • Review the arrangements for advising patients about the practice complaints procedures and how they can make complaints.
  • Review the availability of an interpreter service for patients who do not speak English as their first language.
  • Submit an application to CQC for a relevant person to be registered as the manager for the service.