The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Trinity Dental Practice

104 Trinity Road, London, SW17 7RL (020) 8767 0128

Provided and run by:
Dr Henry Kwabena Agyekum

All Inspections

31 August 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook a focused inspection of Trinity Dental Practice on 31 August 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 adviser.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Trinity Dental Practice on7 June 2021 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, effective or well led care and was in breach of regulations 12 and 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 Trinity Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

As part of this inspection we asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• 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 where improvement was required.

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 7 June 2021.

Are services effective?

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

The provider had made improvements in relation to the regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on 7 June 2021.

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 7 June 2021.

Background

Trinity Dental Practice is in Wandsworth, London and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is ramp access into the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes two dentists, a trainee dental nurse, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two 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.

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

The practice is open:

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9.00am to 6.00pm

Tuesday and Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm

Our key findings were:

  • The practice had put necessary checks in place for the medical emergency equipment, had installed emergency lighting for use in the event of a fire, and an illuminated signage to advise people that radiation was carried out in the decontamination room, and had undertaken audits on infection prevention and control, radiography and the practice’s accessibility to people with disability.

  • There were environmental cleaning logs in place.

  • Risk assessments including on fire and sharps risks had been undertaken for the premises.

  • Staff had undertaken training, including on medical emergency and fire safety.

  • There were records of Disclosure and Barring Service checks for all members of staff.

  • There were servicing records for the X-ray machines and the implant motor.

  • Complete records of decontamination of used dental instruments were in place.

  • Staff had received fit testing for face masks worn in practice.

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

• Take action to ensure the service takes into account the needs of patients with disabilities and to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

07 June 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this announced inspection on 7 June 2021 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 Care Quality Commission, (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 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 effective?

We found this practice was not providing effective 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

Trinity Dental Practice is in Wandsworth and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is ramped access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes two dentists, two trainee dental nurses, one dental hygienist, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two 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.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, a trainee dental nurse, and a receptionist. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 9.00am to 6.00pm

Friday, Tuesday 9.00am to 5.00pm

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared to be visibly clean.
  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies; the medical emergency training however needed to be updated. The medical emergency kit lacked critical pieces of equipment.
  • The provider had ineffective systems to help them manage risks to patients and staff.
  • The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation. Improvements were needed to ensure all employment checks were made prior to staff commencing work.
  • Clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The provider asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • There were ineffective governance systems to monitor the day-to-day running of the practice.
  • The provider had ineffective arrangements to ensure that staff undertook important recommended training in relation to their roles within the practice.

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 is not meeting are at the end of this report

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

•Take action to ensure all clinicians are adequately supported by a trained member of the dental team when treating patients in a dental setting taking into account the guidance issued by the General Dental Council.

•Implement audits for dental implants taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.

•Implement audits for prescribing of antibiotic medicines taking into account the guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice.

26 June 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We did not speak to people during this inspection.

We carried out this inspection to follow-up on a compliance action that had been issued following our last inspection. Our inspection of 17 October 2013 found that people were not protected from the risk of infection because the provider had failed to follow published guidance for infection control. The area for decontaminating instruments did not have separate sinks for hand washing and infection control audits had not been carried out. The provider wrote to us and told us that they had taken steps to ensure people were protected from the risk of infection. Our inspection of 26 June 2014 found that the provider had installed new sinks, had purchased a new autoclave for sterilising instruments and had carried out the necessary audits and checks to ensure people were protected from the risk of infection.

17 October 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with eight people who use the service, the receptionist and dentist during this inspection.

People told us that they had been coming to this dentist for many years and were very satisfied with the services provided. One person said "I have recommended him to other people". Another person said "the dentist is great, he was recommended and I am more than happy with the service". "The dentist always checks if there are any medical changes he needs to know about", "the dentist is kind and gentle" and "it's always clean here" were just a few comments people made. People said staff respected their privacy and that although the reception area was open, staff did not speak to them in front of others but directed them into the treatment room for private discussions.

Staff were happy to be working at the surgery saying "it's a nice place to work". They told us they had the necessary checks before they started work and had the training and support they needed to do their job.

We saw that the treatment room and reception area were clean and tidy, although improvements were needed to the testing of sterilising equipment. We observed that the receptionist welcomed people and made sure health information was updated and consent forms were signed before they saw the dentist. The dentist took time to speak with people about treatments and maintaining good oral hygiene. Further work could be done to seek people's views on the services provided.