Updated 21 November 2023
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of University Dental Practice on 14 November 2023. This inspection was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.
We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of University Dental Practice on 24 July 2023 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well-led care and was in breach of regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for university dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When 1 of the 5 questions are not met, we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area where improvement was required.
As part of this inspection we asked:
- Is it well-led?
Our findings were:
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 24 July 2023.
Background
University Dental Practice is in Cranfield and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
There is a step to access to the practice with a narrow entrance door meaning the service is not easily accessible for people with restricted mobility, those who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.
The dental team includes 1 dentist and 1 dental nurse. The practice has 1 treatment room.
During the inspection we spoke with the dentist and the dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures, and other records to assess how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry when completing dental care records.
- Take action to implement any recommendations in the practice's Legionella risk assessment, 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 temperatures are reaching above 50 degrees to reduce the possibility of Legionella or other bacteria developing in the water system.