West Street Dental Practice

Updated 29 March 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 21 February 2017. The inspection team consisted of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Before the inspection we asked the provider for information to be sent this included the complaints the practice had received in the last 12 months; their latest statement of purpose; the details of the staff members, their qualifications and proof of registration with their professional bodies. We spoke with members of staff and patients during the inspection.

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 29 March 2017

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 21 February 2017 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

West Street Dental Practice is a general dental practice in the centre of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

The practice has eight treatment rooms and offers NHS treatment to adults and children. Certain treatment options are available funded privately.

The practice has undergone recent expansion and has doubled in size in the last year.

The practice now has two principal dentists, five associate dentists and two foundation dentists. This means that the dentist recently qualified and is undertaking a year of mentored working where they receive support from their in practice trainers as well as attending training days. Both the principal dentists acted as trainers for the foundation dentists.

The practice employs four dental hygienists, eight qualified dental nurses and four receptionists.

The practice is open from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on a Friday and 9 am to 1 pm on a Saturday.

The practice is fully accessible to wheelchair users; with a disabled parking space, ramp to the front door, ground floor treatment rooms and an accessible toilet.

One of the principal dentists 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience. We received feedback from 33 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the quality of care, the polite and friendly nature of staff and the cleanliness of the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and clutter free.

• Comments from patients indicated that the staff were kind and caring and were skilled at putting nervous patients at ease.

• The practice met the standards set out in national guidance regarding infection control.

• A routine appointment could be secured within a couple of weeks and emergency appointments would be arranged on the day they contacted the service.

• The practice had policies in place to assist in the smooth running of the service.

• The practice had medicines and equipment to treat medical emergencies.

• Dentists at the practice used national guidance and standards in the care and treatment of patients.

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

• Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the service.

• Appropriate pre-employment checks were being carried out to ensure the service employed fit and proper persons.

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

• Review the practice protocols regarding records of prescription forms with reference to the NHS guidance on security of prescription forms August 2013.