The Bower Dental Practice

We undertook a focused inspection of The Bower Dental Practice on 20 December 2018. This inspection was carried out to review in detail the actions taken by the registered provider to improve the quality of care and to confirm that the practice was now meeting legal requirements.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of The Bower Dental Practice on 10 April 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We found the registered provider was not providing well led care and was in breach of regulation 17 Good Governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Bower Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it well-led?

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area’s where improvement was required.

Our findings were:

Are services well-led?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 10 April 2018.

Background

The Bower Dental Practice is in Tonbridge and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including some for blue badge holders, are available in the practice car park.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental hygienist, two dental nurses, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager at The Bower Dental Practice was the principal dentist.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, one dental nurse, one 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:

Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 10 April 2018 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 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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The Bower Dental Practice is in Tonbridge and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including some for blue badge holders, are available in the practice car park.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental hygienist, two dental nurses, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager at The Bower Dental Practice was the principal dentist.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentists, two dental nurses, one 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:

Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which were out of date and no longer reflected current published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and some life-saving equipment were available, however the practice did not have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)as per Resuscitation Council guidance and General Dental Council Standards (GDC).
• The practice did not have systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures, but some required documentation had not been acquired.
• 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.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership, however some training had lapsed and there were no systems to monitor training needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

We identified regulations the provider was not meeting. They must:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care

Full details of the regulations the provider was not meeting are at the end of this report.

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

• Review stocks of medicines and equipment and the practice's system for identifying, disposing and replenishing of out-of-date stock.