York Street Dental Care

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 31 January 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 provider 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.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing 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 practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements could be made to the process for obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

Background

York Street Dental Care is in Heywood and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. However, there are no ground floor toilet facilities. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, two dental nurses, one dental hygienist, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, one dental nurse, one receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday from 9:00am to 6:00pm

Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm

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

• Take action to implement 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. In particular, the insulation of the water pipes.
• Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.