Archived: J Tan Dental Surgery

Updated 28 September 2016

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 16 August 2016. Our inspection was carried out by a lead inspector and a dental specialist adviser.

During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and staff training and recruitment records. We obtained the views of four members of staff.

We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment. We were shown the decontamination procedures for dental instruments and the systems that supported the patient dental care records. We obtained the views of six patients on the day of our inspection.

Patients gave positive feedback about their experience 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 28 September 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 August 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

Jeffrey Tan is a dental practice providing private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is based in a converted domestic dwelling in Waterlooville, a town situated north of Portsmouth, Hampshire.

The practice has two dental treatment rooms. One of which is based on the ground floor and a separate decontamination room used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility via a ramp which staff make available when required.

The practice employs two dentists, one dental therapist, one hygienist and two dental nurses of which one is a trainee on a recognised course.

The practice’s opening hours are between 9am and 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 9am and 5pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed. This is provided by the principle dentist who is the practice owner.

Mr Jeffrey Tan is registered as an individual and is legally responsible for making sure that the practice meets the requirements relating to safety and quality of care, as specified in the regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. 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.

We obtained the views of six patients on the day of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.

• Leadership was provided by the principle dentist who was the practice owner.

• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.

• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.

• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.

• The practice owner acted as the safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.

• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) 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 and urgent and emergency care when required.

• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the practice owner.

• Staff we spoke with felt very well supported by the practice owner and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.

• Information from 25 completed Care Quality Commission (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:

• Consider installing a hearing loop for patients with hearing difficulties.
• Consider re-establishing the system for receiving national alerts such as those from Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
• Consider providing the hygienist with the support of an appropriately trained member of the dental team on all occasions.
• Consider securing the decontamination room.
• Review the security of the window blind cords in the waiting room and decontamination room.
• Review the practice recruitment policy to ensure that pre-employment checks are in accordance with Schedule 3 of the Health and Social Care Act.
• Review fire safety monitoring in the practice to include checks of alarms, fire extinguishers, fire drills and fire risk assessment reviews.
• Review the processes and procedures relating to interpreter services for patients whose first language is not English.