Crown Dental Surgery

We carried out this announced inspection on 8 January 2020 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by two specialist dental advisers.

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

Are services effective?

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

Are services caring?

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

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

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

Background

Crown Dental Surgery is in a residential area of Southport and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, seven dental nurses, one dental hygienist, three receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual trading as Crown Dental Surgery and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 at Crown Dental Surgery is the practice manager.

On the day of inspection, we collected 35 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with one patient. All feedback received was highly positive about the care and treatment provided and the staff at the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, three dental nurses, the dental hygienist a 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 to Friday, from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday (according to demand) from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Medicines and life-saving equipment were available, but a full inventory of items required in an emergency medical kit was not used to make regular checks against. As a result of this, a small number of items were missing. These were ordered immediately by the provider.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff. Local rules for

X-ray equipment required updating; this was addressed by the provider immediately and evidence of this provided to CQC.

• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Copies of some documents for the most recently recruited staff member were not available on the day of inspection. These were sent to us on the day after inspection.
• The clinical staff 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had information governance arrangements.

There were areas were the practice could make improvements. The practice should:

• Take action to ensure the availability of e taking into account the guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.