Corner House Dental Practice

We carried out this announced focused inspection on 6 July 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 asked the following three 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 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 well-led?

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

Background

Corner House Dental is a well-established practice in Norwich that provides mostly private treatment for adults and children. In addition to general dental services, it provides short term orthodontics, dental implants and conscious sedation.

As access to the practice is via a steep set of stairs, it is not accessible to wheelchair users.

The dental team includes six dentists, six dental nurses, three dental hygienists, a practice manager and four reception staff. The practice has four treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Corner House Dental is one of the principal dentists

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm.

During the inspection we spoke with the practice manager, three dentists, two dental nurses, and reception staff. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our key findings were:

• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider’s recruitment procedures were thorough and ensured only suitable staff were employed.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.

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

• Take action to ensure the availability of equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the British Resuscitation Council.

• Take action to ensure clinicians follow guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice when completing dental care records.

• Take action to ensure the clinicians implement the guidelines issued by the Department of Health publication ‘Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention’ when promoting the maintenance of good oral health

• Take action to implement outstanding recommendations in the practice's Legionella risk assessment, 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