Archived: Hartswood Dental Practice

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection on 3 November 2022 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered practice was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following 5 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.

Our findings were:

• The dental clinic appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and staff took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• There was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
• Staff and patients were asked for feedback about the services provided.
• Complaints were dealt with positively and efficiently.
• The dental clinic had information governance arrangements.

Background

Hartswood Dental Practice is in Woodhatch in Surrey and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice on surrounding roads.

The dental team includes a principal dentist, 4 associate dentists, 5 dental nurses, 2 dental hygienists, and 2 receptionists. The practice has 5 treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one of the associate dentists, 2 dental nurses, 1 dental hygienist, 1 receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

8.30am to 5pm Monday to Fridays

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Take action to ensure audits of radiography are undertaken at regular intervals to improve the quality of the service. Practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Take action to implement any recommendations in the practice's fire safety risk assessment and ensure ongoing fire safety management is effective.

Implement a system to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are centrally monitored to ensure they are received in a timely manner and not lost.