• Dentist
  • Dentist

The Dental Surgery

72 Halesowen Road, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 9BB (0121) 421 5457

Provided and run by:
The Dental Surgery

Important: The partners registered to provide this service have changed. See old profile

All Inspections

12 July 2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 12 July 2023 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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 appeared clean and well-maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises.
  • Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
  • Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
  • The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
  • There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Staff felt involved, 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 practice had information governance arrangements.

Background

The Dental Clinic is in Halesowen and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 3 dentists and 3 dental nurses (including 1 trainee nurse). The practice has 2 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 2 dentists and 1 dental nurse. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday and Tuesday from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.

Wednesday from 9am to 2.30pm and 3.30pm to 7pm.

Thursday and Friday from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.

8 May 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We previously inspected The Dental Surgery on 12 August 2013. We found that the environment was clean and tidy. However, saw instruments were not always visually clean and rust free. This meant that people would potentially be at risk of cross infection from contaminated instruments. At the time we judged that this had a minor impact on patients who used the service. We set compliance actions and told the provider to take action.

At this inspection we spoke with the provider and a dental nurse. We saw that issues identified at our previous inspection had had been addressed by the provider.

12 August 2013

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection to check on the treatment of people. Following the inspection we conducted telephone interviews with six people. On the day of the inspection we spoke to one patient, a dental nurse, a trainee dental nurse and the dentist.

The practice consisted of a reception/waiting area, two treatment rooms one on each floor, a decontamination area on the ground floor and a toilet on the 1st floor. The practice had a ramp to support people with mobility issues into the practice and to the ground floor treatment room.

People told us their treatment was excellent and their consent was always sought. One person said, "I wouldn't go anywhere else, they are so kind and friendly".

We found that people's treatment and advice was reflected in the records. One person said, "I only got oral advice once I started coming to this practice".

The environment was clean and tidy. We observed the decontamination process. However instruments were not always visually clean and rust free. This meant that people would potentially be at risk of cross infection from contaminated instruments.

The provider had a system in place to ensure only suitable staff were employed.

Records showed that the provider had a system in place to ensure staff had access to suitable training, supervision and development.

The provider had a system in place to allow people to raise complaints and make comments or suggestions.