Archived: Bridgeways Dental Practice

Updated 3 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection took place on 18 January 2016 and was conducted by a lead CQC inspector and a specialist dental adviser.

Prior to the inspection, we asked the practice to send us some information which we reviewed. This included their latest statement of purpose, and the details of their staff members together with proof of professional registration with their professional bodies.

During the inspection, we spoke with the practice manager, dentists, lead dental nurse, reception staff and reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We also obtained the views of six patients on the day of our visit. We reviewed 24 comment cards we had left with the practice prior to the inspection, for patients to complete, about the services provided at the practice.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 3 March 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 18 January 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

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

Are services effective?

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

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant. Regulations.

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Bridgeways Dental Practice is a private practice providing treatment for both adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted domestic property. The practice has two dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. Dental care is provided on two floors with a reception and waiting area on the ground floor.

The practice is open between 8.00am and 5.30pm on Monday and Tuesday and between 8:30am and 7.30pm on Thursday. The practice is closed Wednesday and Friday. Saturday appointments are available by appointment only. The practice has one dentist who is supported by two dental nurses of whom one is also the practice manager, a dental hygienist and a receptionist.

The owner of the practice is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons 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 was supported in their role by the lead dental nurse.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 24 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the high quality of care, the caring nature of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall high quality of customer care.

Our key findings were:

• The practice ethos was to provide high quality patient centred care at all times
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies; appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a dedicated safeguarding lead professional and effective safeguarding processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
• The dentist and dental hygienist provided dental care in accordance with current professional guidelines
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment, urgent and emergency care when required.
• The practice had a dentist who could provide a range of more specialised services including dental implants and orthodontics and there were enough supporting staff to deliver the services on offer.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and was supported in their continuing professional development.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner who was committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Information from 24 completed CQC comment cards gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Provide the hygienist with the chair side support of a dental nurse.
• Secure the decontamination room to prevent unauthorised access.
• Introduce a system to manage national patient safety alerts received by the practice.