Updated 7 September 2017
We carried out this announced inspection on 8 August 2017 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions.
Blackbrook Dental Practice received a comprehensive inspection on 31 January 2017 and we served a requirement notice for regulation 17 good governance. They required improvement in ensuring the service was assessed and monitored to ensure risks were mitigated and they improved the quality and safety of services provided. This included the taking actions following risk assessments carried out for health and safety and fire safety. They also had some areas where they should improve and we reviewed these areas. This included having an annual infection control statement in place.
The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who had access to a remote specialist dental adviser.
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 form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection. During this inspection we reviewed the relevant parts of the well-led key question to check if they were now meeting our standards.
Our findings were:
Are services well-led?
We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Background
Blackbrook Dental Practice is in Taunton and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.
There is level access for patients who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including two for patients with disabled badges, are available near the practice.
The dental team includes five dentists, one dental hygienist, one qualified dental nurse and six trainee dental nurses. The trainee dental nurse job role also includes reception cover. The practice has four treatment rooms.
The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Blackbrook Dental Practice was the practice manager.
During the inspection we spoke with the practice manager and looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.
The practice is open:
- Monday, Wednesday and Thursday - 8:15am to 5:15pm
- Tuesday - 8:15am to 7pm
- Friday - 8:15am to 4:15pm
Our key findings were:
- The practice had taken action and addressed issues identified within risk assessments to ensure risks were mitigated. This included fire safety, health and safety and legionella.
- There were processes in place to ensure infection control procedures were met including the completion of an annual infection control statement.
- Daily checks were recorded to show unpackaged instruments were reprocessed at the end of the working day.
- The practice had effective leadership. The manager had made changes to ensure staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.