Brundall Practice Limited

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 12 April 2022 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 practice 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.

We usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

• The dental clinic appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• There was effective leadership and strong commitment to improvement.

Background

Brundall Dental Practice provides mostly NHS 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 for patients are available on site. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with additional needs and has a fully accessible toilet and level access treatment rooms.

The dental team includes one dentist, a hygienist, three dental nurses and a receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, the senior nurse, a trainee nurse, and a receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open on Mondays to Fridays from 8.30am to 6.30pm, and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm.

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

• Take action to implement the recommendations from the practice’s radiation protection advisor’s visit to ensure compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017.

• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.