Lyndhurst Dental Practice

Updated 13 April 2017

This inspection took place on 13 March 2017. The inspection team consisted of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector, and a dental specialist advisor.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we held about the provider. We also reviewed information we asked the provider to send us in advance of the inspection. This included their latest statement of purpose describing their values and objectives, a record of any complaints received in the last 12 months and details of their staff members together with their qualifications and proof of registration with the appropriate professional body.

We informed the NHS England area team we were inspecting the practice and we did not receive any information of concern from them.

During the inspection, we spoke with the principal dentists, associate dentists, dental nurses, reception and other staff working in the practice. We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment.

We were shown the decontamination procedures for dental instruments and the computer system that supported the patient dental care records.

We also reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We reviewed 44 comment cards that we had left prior to the inspection, for patients to complete, about the services provided at the practice.

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.

Updated 13 April 2017

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 March 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Lyndhurst Dental Practice is a dental practice providing mainly private treatment and was established in 1975.

The practice is situated in a large detached Victorian villa occupying the ground floor and lower ground floor. Level disabled access is to the ground floor where there is one surgery. There is an external stairway to the lower ground floor where there are a further four surgeries. Off street parking is available and there are local bus and train links.

The practice employs four dentists, four dental hygienists, seven dental nurses and three reception staff. There were also staff employed for property maintenance, maintaining accounts and an administration assistant.

Several dentists have enhanced skills and provide more complex treatments such as dental implants, specialized gum treatments and complex root canal treatments.

The practice opens: Monday to Friday 8am 1pm and 2pm - 5.30pm. Saturday: Closed, Sunday: Closed.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent dental assistance when the practice is closed. If patients called the practice when it was closed, an answerphone message gives the telephone number patients should ring depending on their symptoms.

One of the principal dentists is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. 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.

The inspection was carried out by a lead inspector and a dental specialist adviser.

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 received feedback from 44 patients. In addition we spoke with two patients on the day of our inspection. Feedback from patients was positive about the quality of care, the caring nature of all staff and the overall high quality of customer care. They commented that staff put them at ease and listened to their concerns. They also reported they felt proposed treatments were fully explained them so they could make an informed decision which gave them confidence in the care provided.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by the principal dentists.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were effective and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a policy and procedure in place for recording adverse incidents and accidents.
• The dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the principal dentists.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the principal dentists and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.

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

• Review the dispensing protocols for the antibiotic amoxycillin in line with dispensing guidelines issued by the British Pharmacology Society.