Wensum Dental Practice

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 20 April 2022 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 practice 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.

We usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• 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:

• The dental clinic appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• The dental clinic had appropriate information governance arrangements in place.
• Recruitment procedures were not effective and appropriate references and disclosure and barring service checks had not been completed for staff.
• Auditing and risk management systems within the practice were not effective in driving improvement.

Background

Wensum Dental Practice provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is ramped access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. There are ground floor surgeries but not a fully accessible toilet.

Car parking spaces are available on site.

The dental team includes two dentists, two hygienists, a practice manager and five dental nurses. The practice has three treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, a hygienist and two dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care. Full details of the regulation the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

• Ensure recruitment procedures are established and operated effectively to ensure only fit and proper persons are employed.

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

• Improve the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure clinicians are in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

• Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.