TDSML

Updated 30 July 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

An announced inspection was carried out on the 21 May 2015 by an inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we held about the provider and by other organisations.

During the inspection we toured the premises and spoke with the principal dentists, three associate dentists, two dental nurses, a trainee dental nurse, the decontamination assistant, a hygienist, the reception manager and the practice manager. To assess the quality of care provided we looked at practice policies and protocols and other records relating to the management of the service.

We obtained the views of 37 patients who had filled in CQC comment cards.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 30 July 2015

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of TDSML on 21 May 2015. TDSML is located in the City of London and provides private dental services primarily to adults.

The practice team included eight dentists, six dental hygienists, 14 dental nurses, five receptionists and one practice manager.

We reviewed 37 Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards completed by patients who were very positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented that staff were caring, respectful and helpful.

One of the principal dentists is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems in place to help ensure patient safety. This included effective instrument decontamination practices.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Staff were knowledgeable about patient confidentiality and we observed good interaction between staff and patients during the inspection.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed
• The patient comment cards we reviewed indicated that patients were consistently treated with kindness and respect by staff. It was reported that communication with patients, access to the service and to the dentists, was good. Patients reported good access to the practice.

There were also areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Adopt an individual risk based approach to patient recalls having regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Ensure a practice adult safeguarding policy is developed in order to signpost staff who may have concerns.
• Ensure a business continuity plan is in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies that could impact on the running of the practice.
• Ensure clinical and non-clinical audits e.g. X-ray and infection control are carried out periodically.
• Ensure patient records are kept with due regard to General Dental Council guidelines.
• Conduct quarterly testing of the ultra-sonic bath in accordance with Department of Health guidance.
• A system is established for the stock control of medicines such as antibiotics and fridge temperature is checked on a daily basis.
• Conduct water temperature checks as recommended in Legionella risk assessment.

We found that this practice was providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.