The Queen Street Dental Clinic

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 7 September 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 practice 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 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:

• The dental clinic was visibly clean and well-maintained.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The dental clinic had information governance arrangements.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance; however, improvements could be made to ensure established protocols were adhered to.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. Improvements however, could be made to the protocols for managing dental sharps to ensure all staff are aware of the protocols and that up-to-date contact details were available in the event of an incident.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements could be made to ensure all checks were carried out at the point of recruitment.

Background

The Queen Street Dental Clinic is in Whitehaven in Cumbria and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is ramped access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice and the practice is close to local transport routes. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with additional needs for example the availability of a hearing induction loop.

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

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, the dental nurse, one trainee dental nurse, the dental therapist, the dental hygienist and the receptionist. 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 12.30pm and from 1pm to 5pm

Friday from 8am to 4pm

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

• Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’ In particular ensure all staff adhere to the established protocols consistently.
• Implement an effective recruitment procedure to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.