55 Wimpole Street

We carried out this announced inspection on 10 January 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 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

55 Wimpole Street is in Westminster and provides private treatment to adults and children.

There is access into the building via a ramp for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available at a fee.

The dental team includes one dentist, one dental nurse, three dental hygienists and a secretary. The practice has two treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room.

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 37 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, the dental nurse and the secretary. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Fridays.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice 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.
• 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 and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided, although there were no formal processes for gathering feedback routinely.
• The practice had systems to deal with complaints.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’. In particular carrying out infection control audits every six months in line with guidance.
• Review the practice's processes and systems for seeking and learning from patient feedback with a view to monitoring and improving the quality of the service.