We carried out this announced inspection on 22 February 2019 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 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

LDENTEC is in the London borough of Southwark. The practice provides private treatment to adults and children.

The dental team includes a dentist, a trainee dental nurse, and a practice manager/receptionist. The practice has one treatment room on the first floor of the premises.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the trainee dental nurse. 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 dentist, the registered manager, and the practice manager/receptionist. We checked practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

On the day of this inspection, we did not receive feedback from patients about the service.

The practice is currently open every Tuesday from 9.30am to 1pm, but may open on other days according to demand from patients.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider 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 to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS), as well as from other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England (PHE).
• Review its responsibilities to respond to meet the needs of patients with disability and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.