Church Hill Dental Clinic

We carried out this announced inspection on 04 April 2019 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

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 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 providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Church Hill Dental Clinic is in Midhurst, West Sussex and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is accessible via a ramp for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Parking spaces for blue badge holders are outside the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, one dental hygienist, two dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse and one receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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. At the time of inspection there was no registered manager in post; however, the provider told us that the practice manager would be registered in due course. A registered manager is legally responsible for the delivery of services for which the practice is registered.

We collected feedback about the practice from 17 patients.

During the inspection we spoke with an associate dentist, two dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse and one receptionist. Additionally, we spoke with the compliance manager and regional operations manager for the provider. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

• Monday and Wednesday from 7.45am to 5.15pm
• Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8.15am to 5.15pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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 were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• In the absence of a practice manager the practice was being effectively supported by the compliance manager and regional operations manager for the provider. There was a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported; and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas the practice could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s systems for environmental cleaning taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices.