Updated 14 August 2023
We undertook a follow up focused inspection of Blanchard & Castle Dental Surgery on 17 July 2023.
This inspection was carried out to review 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 carried out by a CQC inspector.
We had previously undertaken an inspection of Blanchard & Castle Dental Surgery on 6 March 2023under 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 Blanchard & Castle Dental Surgery on our website www.cqc.org.uk.
When 1 or more of the 5 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 6 March 2023
Background
Blanchard & Castle, known as Oaktree Dental Practice, is in Newbury and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.
There is step free access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.
The practice treatment rooms are based on the first floor of the practice. New patients are advised of this when they contact the practice.
Car parking spaces, including dedicated parking for disabled people, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes 6 dentists, 2 student dental nurses, 1 dental hygienist and 2 receptionists.
The practice has 3 treatment rooms.
During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist.
The practice is open:
- 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday
There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:
- Improve the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’. In particular, the provision of a separate hand-washing sink for use by staff conducting decontamination, flooring repairs and effective cleaning of waiting room soft furnishings.