Archived: Southsea Dental Care

Updated 7 January 2016

The inspection took place on 14th July 2015 and was conducted by a CQC inspector and a 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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Prior to the inspection we asked the practice to send us some information which we reviewed. This included the complaints they had received in the last 12 months, their latest statement of purpose, and the details of their staff members and proof of registration with their professional bodies.

During the inspection we spoke with the practice manager, a dentist, lead dental nurse, and reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We also spoke with patients. We reviewed four comment cards that we had left prior to the inspection for patients to complete about the services provided at the practice.

Updated 7 January 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 14th July 2015 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

Southsea Dental provides family dental care to both adults and children mainly under NHS regulations with a small amount of care being provided under private contract.

The practice is situated in a converted domestic property. The practice provides services on the ground floor. The practice had two dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The practice is part of the provider brand Southern Dental Limited

The practice manager is registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. They were legally responsible for making sure the practice meets the regulations from the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to the quality and safety of care.

The practice had two dentists who work throughout the normal working week, two dental nurses and two part-time dental hygiene-therapists. The practice displayed its opening hours in their premises, in the practice information leaflet and on the practice website. Opening hours were Monday to Thursday from 9.00am until 5.00pm and on Friday from 9am until 6pm, excluding bank holidays.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected four completed cards and spoke with five patients. These provided a positive view of the service the practice provides.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.

• The practice was visibly clean.

• All equipment used in the practice was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed the guidance in the Healthcare Technical Memorandum HTM 01-05.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current professional guidelines

• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.

• The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.

• The practice placed an emphasis on the promotion of good oral health and provided regular oral health instruction to patients.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).