Archived: Purity Dudley

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 8 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

Purity Dental Practice has nine dentists (including the principal, a dentist with a special interest in orthodontics, a foundation dentist an oral surgery consultant and a dentist with a special interest in oral surgery), a practice manager, seven qualified dental nurses who are registered with the General Dental Council (GDC), three trainee dental nurses, three dental therapists and four receptionists. The practice’s opening hours are 9am to 8pm on Monday and Tuesday, 9am to 5.30pm Wednesday to Friday and Saturday 8am to 12pm. The practice closes for lunch between the hours of 1pm to 2pm on a Wednesday when staff training or meetings take place.

Purity Dental Practice provides mainly NHS dental treatments to patients of all ages but also offers private treatment options. The practice has two dental treatment rooms on the ground floor and four on the first floor. Sterilisation and packing of dental instruments takes place in a separate decontamination room. There is a reception with adjoining waiting area on the ground floor.

Our key findings were

• Systems were in place for the recording and learning from significant events and accidents.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures in place with infection prevention and control audits being undertaken recently, although audits had not been completed on a six monthly basis prior to this. Staff had access to personal protective equipment such as gloves and aprons. However there was no evidence that all staff were up to date with their hepatitis B vaccination.
• The dentist used nationally recognised guidance in the care and treatment of patients.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties. Although one piece of equipment was overdue for service.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and the provider had emergency equipment in line with the Resuscitation Council (UK) guidelines with the exception of two sizes of oropharyngeal airways which were ordered following this inspection.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• The governance systems were effective.
• The practice was well-led and there were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice. Staff told us they felt supported, involved and they all worked as a team.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should

• Review the storage of products identified under Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 Regulations to ensure they are stored securely.

• Review systems in place for the undertaking of regular servicing and maintenance of equipment used during surgical procedures and provide evidence to demonstrate that where issues are identified these are acted upon.

• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.