• Dentist
  • Dentist

Cattedown Dental Care

208 Exeter Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 0NH (01752) 266180

Provided and run by:
Smile Care Plymouth Ltd

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

16 November 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a follow up desk-based inspection of Cattedown Dental Care on 16 November 2023. This inspection was carried out to review the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who had remote access to a specialist dental advisor.

We had previously undertaken a comprehensive inspection of Cattedown Dental Care on 13 February 2023 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well-led care and was in breach of regulation 17 (good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Cattedown Dental Care dental practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

When 1 or more of the 5 questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area(s) where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

  • Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services well-led?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 13 February 2023.

Background

The provider is part of a corporate group, Smile Dental Care, and this report is about Cattedown Dental Care.

Cattedown Dental Care is in Plymouth and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 1 dental nurse, 3 trainee dental nurses, a practice coordinator/receptionist and a cleaner. The practice has 4 treatment rooms.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.

13 February 2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 13 February 2023 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 advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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:

  • The dental clinic appeared clean.
  • Improvements are required to repair damaged walls in the practice.
  • Improvements were required to the practice infection control procedures.
  • Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. However, not all staff had completed safeguarding training.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
  • Patient care records did not indicate that care and treatment was in line with current guidelines.
  • Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Staff took care to protect patients’ privacy and personal information.
  • Improvements were required to ensure patients were given appropriate preventative care and their oral health was supported.
  • The appointment system worked efficiently to respond to patients’ needs.
  • The frequency of appointments was agreed between the dentist and the patient, giving due regard to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
  • Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
  • Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
  • The practice had information governance arrangements.
  • The practice had systems to manage risks for patients, staff, equipment and the premises. Senior managers had identified that a number of improvements are needed. They had an action plan in place to address these issues.

Background

The provider is part of a corporate group, Smile Dental Care, and this report is about Cattedown Dental Care.

Cattedown Dental Care is in Plymouth and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. The practice has made reasonable adjustments to support patients with access requirements.

The dental team includes 4 dentists, 1 dental nurse, 3 trainee dental nurses, a practice coordinator/receptionist and a cleaner. The practice has 4 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with 2 dentists, 3 trainee dental nurses, the practice coordinator, the provider area manager for the company; and a practice manager from one of the provider’s other practices, who is helping to support the practice in the absence of a practice manager. We looked at practice policies, procedures and other records to assess how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.

We identified regulations the provider is 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 is not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

  • Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’. In particular, in relation to providing suitable brushes for the effective hand cleaning of dental instruments and repair and tears in dental chairs.
  • Improve the practice's protocols and procedures for the use of X-ray equipment in compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and taking into account the guidance for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment. In particular, by using rectangular collimators to reduce the patient exposure to radiation whilst receiving an X-ray.