The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Dental Centre Also known as The Dental Centre

67 Askew Road, London, W12 9AH (020) 8740 3021

Provided and run by:
Dental Centre 100

All Inspections

11 January 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a remote focused follow up inspection of Dental Centre on 11 January 2022. 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 carried out by a CQC inspector who had remote access to a specialist dental advisor.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Dental Centre on 9 December 2020 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of regulation 12 and regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated

Activities) Regulations 2014.

We carried out a follow up inspection on 7 July 2021 and found a number of improvements had been made, however the provider was not providing well led care and was found to still be in breach of regulation 17.

On 8 November 2021 we carried out a subsequent follow up but found there were still areas where improvements were needed and found the provider was still in breach of regulation 17. On 11 January 2022 we carried out a remote follow up inspection and found the provider had implemented systems and addressed the areas of concern we found at the previous inspections.

You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Dental Care Centre on our website www.cqc.org.uk

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

  • Is it well-led?

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 to put right the shortfalls and had responded to the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 8 November 2021.

Background

Dental Centre is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

Car parking spaces are available in surrounding roads and the practice is located close to public transport links. The practice has one treatment room located on the first floor.

The dental team includes two dentists, a receptionist and a practice manager.

During the inspection we spoke with 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 - 5pm

Our key findings were:

  • Staff knew how to deal with medical emergencies and appropriate life-saving equipment was available according to the national guidelines. An updated monitoring system had also been implemented to ensure all emergency medicines were available and within their use-by date.
  • Systems were in place to help the provider manage risks to patients and staff including Legionella and waste management.
  • Systems had been implemented to ensure NHS prescriptions were managed and stored appropriately.
  • Some improvements had been made in relation to the management of fire safety and the handling of substances hazardous to health; however, we could not be assured all risks had been mitigated.

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

  • Improve the practice's processes for the control and storage of substances hazardous to health identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken and the products are stored securely.
  • Review the fire safety risk assessment and ensure that any actions required are complete and ongoing fire safety management is effective.

8 November 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a focused follow up inspection of Dental Centre on 8 November 2021. 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 who was supported by a specialist dental advisor.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Dental Centre on 9 December 2020 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of regulation 12 and regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We carried out a subsequent follow up inspection on 7 July 2021 and found a number of improvements had been made, however the provider was not providing well led care and was found to still be in breach of regulation 17.

You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Dental Centre on our website www.cqc.org.uk

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements to put right the shortfalls and had responded to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 7 July 2021. However, further improvements were still required to ensure these changes were sustained.

Background

Dental Centre is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

Car parking spaces are available in surrounding roads and the practice is located close to public transport links. The practice has one treatment room located on the first floor.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental nurse and a practice manager.

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.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, dental nurse 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 - 5pm

Our key findings were:

  • Improvements had been made to the servicing of the equipment.
  • Risk assessments in relation to Health and Safety and lone working had been undertaken.
  • The decontamination of used dental instruments was carried out in accordance with current guidelines.
  • A Disability Access audit had been carried out.
  • There were ineffective systems for risk management and monitoring at the practice. In particular relating to fire safety, the control of hazardous substances and waste management.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

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

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

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

  • Review the practice's Legionella risk assessment and implement any recommended actions, 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 ensure the water temperature monitoring protocols are implemented for all water outlets.
  • Review the practice's policy for the control and storage of substances hazardous to health identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken and the products are stored securely.
  • Review the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

7 July 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a focused follow up inspection of Dental Centre on 7 July 2021. 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 who was supported remotely by a specialist dental advisor.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Dental Centre on 9 December 2020 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 safe or well led care and was in breach of regulation 12 and regulation 17 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 Dental Centre on our website www.cqc.org.uk

When one or more of the five questions are not met we require the service to make improvements. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the areas where improvement was required.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 9 December 2020.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements to put right the shortfalls and had responded to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 9 December 2020.

However, further improvements were still required to ensure these changes were embedded.

Background

Dental Centre is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

Car parking spaces are available in surrounding roads and the practice is located close to public transport links. The practice has one treatment room located on the first floor.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental nurse and a practice manager.

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.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, dental nurse 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 - 5pm

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
  • Staff training, performance and development needs were now monitored appropriately.
  • Improvements had been made to ensure patient referrals were monitored and followed up.
  • Staff recruitment procedures had been improved to ensure that checks were carried out consistently for all staff at the time of recruitment.
  • Improvements had also been made to the information governance arrangements, identification and mitigation of risks to staff and patients, requirements related to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), safety of the premises and equipment in use, and to the completion of dental care records. However, in all of these areas further improvements were still required.
  • An Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) audit had been completed as required. Improvements were needed to the infection control monitoring systems to ensure the decontamination of used dental instruments is carried out in accordance with current guidelines.
  • The system implemented to monitor medicines and life-saving equipment, failed to ensure that all medicines were replaced once the use-by date had passed.
  • A Disability Access audit had not been carried out.
  • There was ineffective leadership and a lack of management oversight for the day-to-day running of the service.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

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

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

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

  • Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.
  • Improve the practice protocols regarding auditing patient dental care records to check that necessary information is recorded.

9 December 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this announced, focused inspection on 9 December 2020 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection due to concerns highlighted during a Transitional Monitoring Call undertaken on 28 October 2020 and 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 Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We asked the following questions:

• Is it safe?

• 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 not providing safe 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

Dental Centre is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

Car parking spaces are available in surrounding roads and the practice is located close to public transport links. The practice has one treatment room located on the first floor.

The dental team includes two dentists, two dental nurses and one receptionist.

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.

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

The practice is open:

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • Risks to staff and patients from undertaking of the regulated activities had not been suitably identified and mitigated.
  • Decontamination of used dental instruments was not carried out in accordance with current guidelines.
  • The provider had limited staff recruitment procedures. Improvements were needed to ensure that checks were carried out consistently for all staff at the time of recruitment.
  • There was ineffective leadership and a lack of management oversight for the day-to-day running of the service.
  • The provider did not have suitable information governance arrangements.
  • There were ineffective systems to ensure facilities were safe and equipment was serviced and maintained according to manufacturers’ guidance.
  • Accurate, complete and contemporaneous dental care records were not maintained in respect of each service user.
  • Infection prevention and control (IPC) and Disability Access audits were not completed.
  • There were ineffective arrangements to monitor staff training and development needs.

We identified regulations the provider was not complying with. They must:

  • Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
  • 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 the practice protocols regarding audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.
  • Implement an effective system for monitoring and recording the fridge temperature to ensure that medicines and dental care products are being stored in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.

26 November 2012

During a routine inspection

We spoke with two patients, both of whom said that they were given adequate information about the service so that they could make decisions about their treatment. One person said that staff were friendly and they 'put trust in the dentist'. Both said the centre was clean.

There were suitable recruitment and employment processes in place and staff were supported by the provider's systems and policies. There were processes to assess each person's suitability prior to any treatment. There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Staff had been trained in infection control and for emergency situations. The provider had systems to review and monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.