Archived: Acorn Villas Dental Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 November 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

Acorn Villas Dental Practice is situated in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. The practice offers mainly private dental treatment to patients of all ages and also has a small NHS contract. Approximately 70% of treatment is provided privately and 30% under the NHS system. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has six surgeries, a preventative dental unit (PDU), a decontamination suite, a waiting area and a reception area. All of the facilities are on the ground floor of the premises along with toilets.

There are four dentists, two dental hygienists, eight dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), three receptionists and a practice manager.

The opening hours are Monday to Wednesday from 8-00am to 5-00pm, Thursday from 8-00am to 7-00pm and Friday from 8-00am to 4-00pm.

One of the practice owners is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. 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.

During the inspection we received feedback from 50 patients. The patients were all positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included staff were caring, helpful and respectful. They also commented the environment was safe and hygienic and the preventative advice given was invaluable.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and uncluttered.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.
• Dental care records showed treatment was planned in line with current best practice guidelines.
• The practice was highly proactive in providing preventative care and advice in line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH). This included three weekly sessions where one to one oral hygiene advice was given to patients at no extra fee to the patient.
• We observed patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The governance systems were effective.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.

We identified the following notable practice:

• The practice was proactive in promoting prevention. There was a preventative dental unit (PDU) where one to one oral hygiene advice was given to patients three afternoons a week. Three dental nurses had completed the oral health education course and provided tailored oral hygiene advice to both adults and children. Staff also visited local schools and children’s groups to provide oral hygiene advice. The practice also ran monthly campaigns relating to oral health promotion. The aim of this was to reduce the incidence of dental decay in the local population.
• We saw the practice held periodontal team meetings which involved the dentists and the dental hygienists. During these meetings they discussed different ways to improve the outcomes for patients who were suffering with periodontal disease. We were told these meetings were a good opportunity to discuss cases. The registered provider told us they were planning on involving the oral health educators in these meetings as they were considered a key part of the team. The aim of this was to improve the outcomes for patients who suffered with gum disease.
• We think this is notable practice because it demonstrates a commitment to improving oral health utilising the different skills within the practice and available to both NHS and private patients.

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

• Review the system for identifying and disposing of out-of-date stock.