Updated 4 April 2023
We undertook a follow up inspection of Acorn Dental Practice on 20 March 2023. This inspection was carried out to review 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 advisor.
We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Acorn Dental Practice on 7 November 2022 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 well-led care and was in breach of regulation 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 Acorn Dental Practice dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When 1 or more of the 5 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 well-led?
Our findings were:
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 breach we found at our inspection on 7 November 2022.
Background
Acorn Dental Practice is in Acomb, York 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 disabled people, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes 3 dentists, 2 qualified dental nurses, 2 trainee dental nurses, 1 dental hygienist, 1 dental hygiene therapist and 1 receptionist. The team is supported by the practice manager who was also a qualified dental nurse. The practice has 3 treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist and the infection prevention and control lead dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
Monday to Friday from 8:45am to 5:30pm
Saturday from 8:45am to 12pm (generally 2 per month except for July and August)
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’ In particular: the process for streaming unwrapped instruments, the use of manual cleaning detergent and effective quality assurance audit.