Updated 25 February 2022
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Blue Cross Dental Care on 16 February 2022. This inspection was carried out to review in detail 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 was supported by a specialist dental adviser.
We undertook a focused inspection of Blue Cross Dental Care on 4 August 2021 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 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 Blue Cross Dental Care on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When one or more of the five 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 areas 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 4 August 2021.
Background
Blue Cross Dental Care is in Watford, Hertfordshire and provides NHS and a small amount of 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 dedicated parking for people with disabilities, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes four dentists, two qualified and two trainee dental nurses, one dental hygienist, and a practice manager. The practice has four treatment rooms, one of which is on the ground floor.
During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, and one dental nurse. 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 5.30pm.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
Take action to ensure the availability of equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.