CQC's inspection programme of Defence Medical Services: Annual report for 2024/25 (Year 8)

For our inspections of DMS dental services, rather than give a rating, we judge whether the service is meeting standards, and we make recommendations in the inspection report.

DMSR asked CQC to carry out first comprehensive inspections at 14 dental centres. Of these, 13 were meeting the regulations for all 5 key questions.

Only one dental centre inspected did not meet safety standards, as the unit had failed to provide clear information and resolve risks relating to routine water safety checks to minimise the risk of Legionella in the water system. We also identified the need to:

• implement temperature monitoring for perishable consumables
• make clinical waste management fully effective
• observe waiting patients at all times.

Dental care provided overseas

We inspected the 3 dental centres on Sovereign bases in British Forces Cyprus. Our recommendations to DPHC Overseas were to:

• ensure that all suspected oral cancer cases are referred without delay, and to manage 2-week referrals consistently across the island
• ensure that staff understand how to access general anaesthetic for children aged under 3 years
• explore the possibilities and benefits of a more co-ordinated approach across the island to maximise standardisation, provide a platform for clinical peer review and share best practice across practices.

Re-inspections

We re-inspected the safe key question at 3 dental centres in 2024/25 to follow up our previous recommendations. Of these re-inspections, Blandford Dental Centre had substantially improved health and safety systems around managing clinical waste, and routine water safety checks were now in place to ensure patient and staff safety.

However, 2 centres did not meet standards for the safe key question. We noted ongoing non-compliance at both Weeton and Mount Pleasant Dental Centres. This was because poorly-designed and maintained buildings were unable to achieve ‘basic standards’ as detailed in guidelines on decontamination and the control of infections and related guidance. Although both centres had appropriately escalated concerns through the risk system and submitted statements of need for remedial work, funding had not been approved and so improvements had not been delivered.