Updated 14 December 2020
We undertook a focused inspection of Guildford Dental Centre on 23 October 2020. This inspection was carried out to review in detail 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 remotely by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Guildford Dental Centre on 10 March 2020 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 safe, effective or well led care and was in breach of regulation 12 and 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 Guildford Dental Centre on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
As part of this inspection we asked: Remove as appropriate:
• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it well-led?
When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 10 March 2020.
Are services effective?
We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 10 March 2020.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements to put right the shortfalls and had responded to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 10 March 2020; however additional information we received highlighted that further improvements were still required.
Background
Guildford Dental Centre is in Guildford, Surrey and provides private treatment for adults and children.
There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes three dentists, one dental nurse, three trainee dental nurses, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and a dental nurse/practice manager. The practice has four treatment rooms.
The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Guildford Dental Centre is the principal dentist.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and one dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Mondays to Fridays 8am to 5pm
Our key findings were:
- The provider’s infection prevention and control procedures reflected published guidance.
- Infection prevention and control audits were carried out every six months to assess and address areas where improvements were needed.
- Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was available in line with guidance.
- Information relating to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) was available to staff as recommended.
- There were arrangements to monitor the storage temperature of medicines requiring refrigeration, to ensure their efficacy.
- Systems were in place to ensure the disposal of out of date medicines and medical equipment.
- There were systems to carry out audits of dental radiographs, dental implants and antimicrobial prescribing to assess and improve the quality and to ensure compliance with current guidance.
- Systems had been implemented to ensure patient referrals were monitored and followed up.
We identified regulations the provider was not meeting. They must:
Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care
Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.
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 Faculty of General Dental Practice when completing dental care records.