Beechwood Dental Practice

We carried out this announced focussed inspection on 8 September 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we asked the following three questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

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

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Beechwood Dental Practice Is on the outskirts of Halifax and provides NHS dental care and treatment for adults and children. The practice is based within the Beechwood Health Centre.

Disabled access is available at the practice and all treatment rooms are on the ground floor. The health centre has its own dedicated car park and local transport links are nearby.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental hygiene therapist, one dental nurse, a practice manager, reception and administrative staff. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Beechwood Dental Practice is the practice manager.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, one dental nurse and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday-Wednesday 8:30am-5pm

Thursday and Friday 8:30am-4pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had implemented standard operating procedures in line with national guidance on COVID-19.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. We noted some items were out of date or omitted from the Emergency equipment.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the availability of medicines in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the British National Formulary and the General Dental Council.