Dental Logic

We carried out this announced focussed inspection on 15 November 2021 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 asked the following three questions:

• 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:

Are services safe?

We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Dental Logic is in Kirk Ella, near Hull 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. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes one dentist, four part time dental nurses, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two 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 Dental Logic is the practice manager.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, two dental nurses, the 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 8:30am to 5:30pm

Friday from 8:30am to 4pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean.
• Improvements could be made to infection control procedures to ensure they reflect published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. On the day of inspection, not all medicines and life-saving equipment were available. These were ordered immediately.
• Improvements could be made to the process for managing the risks associated with Legionella and Covid-19.
• 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 (DBS) checks for new members of staff.
• Systems to ensure dental equipment was regularly serviced and maintained was not effective.
• 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.
• 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.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.