Updated 21 April 2022
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Eastgate Dental Clinic on 21 March 2022. 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 by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Eastgate Dental Clinic on 17 November 2021 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 and well led care and was in breach of regulation 12 and 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 Eastgate Dental Clinic on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When one or more of the three questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.
As part of this inspection we asked:
• Is it safe?
• Is it well-led?
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 17 November 2021.
Are services well-led?
We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 17 November 2021.
Background
Eastgate Dental Clinic is in Guildford and provides 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, including dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with additional needs.
The dental team includes a dentist and a practice manger, supported by agency dental nurses. The practice has two treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with a dentist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
- Mondays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 6pm
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.30am to 7pm
- Friday 9.30am to 3pm
- Saturday 9.30am to 1pm
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry.
- Take action to ensure the availability of equipment and medicines in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.
- Take action to ensure audits of infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. The practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
Where evidence is sent that shows the relevant issues have been acted on, we have stated this in our report.