Archived: Kiln Lane Dental Limited

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 24 August 2015 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

Kiln Lane Dental Practice offers private dental care services to patients of all ages and currently has 3000 patients on its practice list. Approximately 27% pay for treatment as and when they attend the practice and the remaining 73% have a dental payment plan in place. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine and restorative dental care. The practice has three treatment rooms, two waiting rooms and a decontamination room. Treatment and waiting rooms are on the ground and first floor of the premises.

The practice has four dentists, a hygienist and five dental nurses; in addition to a reception manager, an administration manager and a practice manager. The practice manager 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 practice is open Monday from 8.30am until 6.45pm, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8.00am until 5.15pm, Thursday from 8.00am until 5.45pm and Friday from 8.00am until 3.45pm.

We viewed 50 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. In addition we spoke with six patients on the day of our inspection. We reviewed patient feedback gathered by the practice over the last 12 months. Feedback from patients was positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented staff were caring, helpful and respectful and that they had confidence in the dental services provided. Patients told us they had no difficulties in arranging a convenient appointment and that staff put them at ease and listened to their concerns.

Our key findings were:

• There were systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients, including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.

• Dental care records showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.

• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.

• The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management structures in place. There were systems to monitor the quality of the service.

• The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team. Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development (CPD) and had undertaken training appropriate to their roles.

• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

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

• Complete and act upon risk assessments regarding carrying out Disclosure and Barring service (DBS) checks for administration roles, including roles with extended patient duties
• Review their current practice of keeping treatment doors open at all times; to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality are maintained.