Archived: Brighter Dental - Isles of Scilly

We carried out this announced inspection on 25 July 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 telephone 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

Brighter Dental - Isles of Scilly, is located in St. Mary’s Hospital on the island of St. Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly. It provides NHS treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available at the hospital.

The dental team includes one full time dentist, one visiting orthodontist depending upon need and three dental nurses (who also perform reception duties). The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a community interest company 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. The registered manager at Brighter Dental – Isles of Scilly is the area manager.

On the day of inspection, we collected 31 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses and three members of the senior management team. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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 suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider 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 provided preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• There had been no complaints in the last 12 months.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols for domiciliary visits taking into account the 2009 guidelines published by British Society for Disability and Oral Health in the document “Guidelines for the Delivery of a Domiciliary Oral Healthcare Service”.
• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of antimicrobial prescribing are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. Practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.