Updated 2 March 2018
We carried out this announced inspection on 22 January 2018 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 CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
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 form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.
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
New Brooklyn Dental Centre is in Birstall and provides private treatment to adults and children.
There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. The practice has a dedicated car park.
The dental team includes one dentist, two dental nurses, (one of whom is a trainee), two dental hygienists, one receptionist and a practice manager (who is also a qualified dental nurse). The practice has one treatment room.
The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.
On the day of inspection we collected 66 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.
During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, one dental nurse, the receptionist 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 from 9:00am to 7:00pm
Tuesday from 9:00am to 4:00pm (Hygienist only)
Wednesday from 9:00am to 8:00pm
Thursday from 9:00am to 5:00pm (Hygienist only)
Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm
Our key findings were:
- The practice was clean and well maintained.
- The practice had infection control procedures which kept patients safe.
- Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Some emergency equipment was unavailable and some had passed their expiry dates.
- Improvements could be made to the process for reducing risks associated with fire and sharps.
- The practice had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
- Minor improvements could be made to the staff recruitment process.
- The dentist provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
- Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
- The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
- Minor improvements could be made to the overall governance system.
- Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
- The practice asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
- The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Review the process for checking medical emergency equipment taking into account guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK).
- Review the current fire risk assessment and ensure it accurately reflects circumstances at the practice and ensure regular checks of the fire alerting system are carried out.
- Review the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure they are in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
- Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure proof of identification is requested and recorded suitably.
- Review the practice’s audit protocols to document learning points that are shared with all relevant staff and ensure that the resulting improvements can be demonstrated as part of the audit process.