Canada Water Dental Health

We carried out this announced inspection on 17 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

Canada Water Dental Health is the London Borough of Southwark and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice has five treatment rooms.

The dental team includes two principal dentists, seven associate dentists, three dental hygienists and six dental nurses. The dental team are supported by a practice manager, an assistant practice manager and four customer care advisors.

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 five CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

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

The practice is open:

Mondays to Thursdays between 8.30am and 8pm.

8.30am to 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

8.30am to 5pm on Sundays.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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.
• Staff provided preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• 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.

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

• Review the practice's protocols and procedures for the use of X-ray equipment to ensure compliance with The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and take into account the guidance for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Central Alerting System and other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England.
• Review the practice's procedures to ensure patient referrals to other dental or health care professionals are monitored to ensure they are received and suitably actioned in a timely manner.
• Review the security of NHS prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.