The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Chulmleigh Dental Practice

South Molton Street, Chulmleigh, Devon, EX18 7BW (01769) 581727

Provided and run by:
Chulmleigh Dental Practice Ltd

All Inspections

During a check to make sure that the improvements required had been made

We carried out a desktop review to follow up concerns identified in January 2014. This had centred on one area: Recruitment practice did not follow current employment standards. All other areas we looked at were compliant. Following the inspection the provider sent us an action plan, which showed how they intended to become compliant.

As part of this review we did not speak to patients using the service. The provider sent us information we requested, which we then reviewed. The provider had taken our previous findings of non-compliance with recruitment seriously. We were satisfied they had acted in both a robust and timely way and had ensured action was taken to make the necessary improvements and concluded the provider was compliant. Patients were now protected by robust recruitment systems.

2 January 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out a routine inspection of Chulmleigh Dental Practice on 2 January 2014. We looked at the records of nine patients and spoke with them during their appointment; some were children accompanied by their parents who we also spoke with. We spoke with another three patients over the phone after their appointment.

We asked NHS England for their comments because they have a monitoring role in the commissioning of NHS dental care at this practice. NHS England reported there were no concerns with this practice.

Patients made positive comments about their experience of treatment at the dental practice. We were told the practice was very responsive when patients were in pain and needed emergency treatment. For example, a patient said 'They've been brilliant. I had a problem and got seen the same day'. A parent told us about the complex care their child had received from the team and said 'It wasn't a problem and they've worked around us and what we needed'.

We followed nine patient's appointments from start to finish and all said they were satisfied with the dental practice with comments like 'We love coming here and come a very long way to do so'. One patient told us they were very anxious but always put at ease and said the dentist was 'Always very good'. The patients we spoke with described staff as being 'Brilliant'. One patient remarked to us 'It's always a pleasure to see my dentist. She takes an interest in you and is particularly good with older people and is very kind'.

Information about fees, treatment plans and medical history was discussed with each patient. For example, we saw a patient being given their treatment plan before they left the dentist and their questions about when fees would be due being answered in a respectful way by the reception staff.

The practice had systems in place which meant patients were safe and well cared for. Patients described the environment and equipment used as being a 'very high standard of cleanliness'. We saw decontamination and cleaning procedures followed national guidelines, which meant equipment was safe to use on patients. We highlighted an area for improvement around the use of personal protective equipment, regarding masks and uniforms. The manager said they would immediately raise awareness about the use of personal protective equipment with all staff.

The provider was compliant with four out five outcomes we looked at. Recruitment practices were not sufficiently robust to protect patients from being cared for by unsuitable staff. The manager said they would immediately review these procedures.