The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Archived: Lynbridge Dental Practice

26 West Street, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 8AN (01822) 612828

Provided and run by:
Mr. Matthew Brock

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile
Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

20 May 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

When we (the Care Quality Commission) inspected Lynbridge Dental Surgery on 30 September 2013 we found that people who used the service were positive about the treatment they received. However, we also found that the service was not meeting some essential standards.

At that inspection we found that improvements were needed to the decontamination process, to reduce the risks of cleaned instruments being contaminated again. We identified that infection prevention audits needed to be carried out more frequently in line with recommendations set out by the Department of Health. The practice's quality assurance processes were not robust as there were not always clear lines of accountability.

Following the inspection on 30 September 2013 we asked the provider to send us an action plan detailing how they would make the necessary improvements. The provider sent us an action plan which described the changes they would make.

We carried out an inspection on 20 May 2014 to confirm that the provider had made those improvements.

During our latest inspection on 20 May 2014 we saw that effective changes had been made to the layout of the decontamination room to ensure a clear flow of work from dirty to clean areas. More frequent audits of infection prevention and control (IPC) had been carried out every three months and these had been acted upon.

The provider had also initiated a more robust system of quality monitoring, with clear lines of accountability.

30 September 2013

During a routine inspection

During this visit we toured the premises and met with the registered manager who was a dentist, five other dentists and five other staff on duty. We spoke with eight people who used the service. We looked at patient and staff records and other documents related to the running of the service.

People told us they found this to be an excellent service. One person said, 'I am extremely happy with the service. The dentist is very nice and explains everything. All staff are extremely helpful. They seem caring.' Another person said the dentist was patient and understood their anxiety. Others told us how they had been helped in emergencies.

Systems were in place for protecting children and safeguarding vulnerable adults.

A separate room had been provided for cleaning instruments after use but the layout did not follow the guidance from the Department of Health.

The service was owned and run by four dentists who were business partners. We found they were responsive to the needs of patients and staff but did not have a system in place to monitor the quality of the service or assess and manage risks in a comprehensive way.