• Dentist
  • Dentist

Dental Access Centre

Baring Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8NF (01752) 434664

Provided and run by:
Plymouth Community Dental Services Limited

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Overall inspection

Updated 5 January 2018

We carried out this announced inspection on 7 December 2017 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. NHS England provided us with information about the contract they hold with the practice.

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:

Are services safe?

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

Are services effective?

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

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Dental Access Centre is in Plymouth and provides NHS treatment to patients of all ages. On referral, the service provides:

  • Comprehensive dental care for children
  • Comprehensive dental care those with special needs
  • Minor oral surgery
  • Dental phobic treatment
  • Paediatric dental extractions and comprehensive dental care for special care patients under generalanaesthetic.

The service is also responsible for:

  • A fluoride varnishing preventative project in 24 schools across Plymouth
  • Dental screening – of special schools
  • Epidemiology – data collection within the local population.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for patients with disabled badges, are available at the practice.

The dental team includes 15 dentists, 24 dental nurses, two dental hygienists/dental hygienist therapists, two dental decontamination room operatives, 12 administrative staff and the dental services manager. The practice has ten treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 the Dental Access Centre was the dental services manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 48 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with a range of staff on duty, clinicians, administrators and members of staff with managerial responsibilities. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 8.45am – 5pm.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice was clean and well maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
  • The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
  • The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
  • The appointment system prioritised patients’ needs.
  • The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
  • The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

We identified an area of notable practice.

  • Staff were committed to promoting equality of access to the service and actively sought to reach out to address needs of vulnerable groups. To illustrate; information about dental treatments was available in a range of pictorial forms, intended for patients with learning disabilities. The practice’s website was available in over 100 different languages and was able to be adapted to make reading easier for visually impaired patients. Staff described examples of pre-planning on-site interpreter services for a range of people speaking English as a second language and for hearing impaired patients. The practice had trained key staff to work with refugee families in the local area, a group identified as vulnerable and having limited access to dental services. Staff assessed, treated and provided oral hygiene advice. The practice had a wheelchair platform in one of the treatment rooms. This allowed wheelchair users to be treated in their own chair. Information was signposted in Braille throughout the building. These approaches demonstrate a commitment to identifying and responding to the needs of individual patients and to the needs of vulnerable groups and supporting patients to achieve positive outcomes in respect of their oral health.