The Chequers Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 1 July 2019 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 provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a 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 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.

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

The Chequers Dental Practice is in Salisbury, Wiltshire and provides NHS treatment to adults and children.

There is level access via ramps for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes four dentists, one endodontist, one periodontist, one orthodontist, five dental nurses, two dental hygienists, three dental hygiene therapists, the practice manager and two receptionists. The practice has four treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected 54 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and obtained the views of six other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, two associate dentists, three dental nurses, two receptionists and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday-Friday 09:00-17:30

Saturday 09:00-13:00

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• Staff provided preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.
• Not all staff had completed training on Basic Life Support annually.
• The practice did not fully follow its staff recruitment procedures.

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

• Review the practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.

• Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.

• Review the practice's systems for checking and monitoring equipment taking into account relevant guidance and ensure that all equipment is well maintained. In particular, the air conditioning units.
• Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members at appropriate intervals and ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment, supervision and appraisal of all staff.