We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 6 February 2017 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Mydentist Hampton Court Peterborough is located in a small shopping precinct with a public car park nearby. The service provides orthodontic and general dentistry services to registered NHS patients. Some private dental treatments are also offered. The practice is based at ground floor level, with a small waiting room, three treatment rooms, and a decontamination room.

The practice is led by the practice manager and employs; two dentists, an orthodontist, an orthodontic therapist a lead dental nurse (qualified in orthodontics) and two registered dental nurses, one of which also works as a receptionist. Two additional staff cover reception duties and this includes a trainee dental nurse. Additional support is provided by an area management team and support staff based at the provider’s head office.

As part of the inspection, we received feedback from ten patients from either CQC comments cards or by speaking with patients using the service on the day of the inspection. Patients said that the staff were caring and helpful and were particularly patient with children. They told us they received good care and treatment.

The practice manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Our key findings were: .

• An accident and incident reporting system was in place although few had been reported. Staff were not clear how to recognise significant events and the policy in place did not guide them in doing so.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Emergency medicines and equipment were accessible and staff had been trained in their use in line with guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
• Patients told us they were able to get an appointment when they needed one and that staff were thorough, kind and helpful.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current guidelines from the Faculty for General Dental Practice guidelines and the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE).
• Staff worked well together, had good access to training and were supported to develop their knowledge and maintain their professional development.
• Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the practice. This included a structured audit plan and staff training and development. However, further improvement was needed to ensure that learning form complaints, accidents and incidents were clearly documented and shared with staff.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review and strengthen the arrangements for 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 staff knowledge of the national reporting requirements in relation to any adverse reactions to medicines or incidents involving medical devices.
• Review the practice’s system for recording actions taken and the learning points identified as a result of accidents, incidents, significant events and complaints so that learning is maximised and quality improvements are secured. This review should also include the knowledge and understanding of staff in relation to recognising significant events.
• Review the practice’s infection control procedures in relation to the cleaning of dental instruments giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
• Review and update the COSHH file and the sharps risk assessment. This review should include the management of sharps waste bins so that the bins are not used for longer than three months.
• Review the use and accessibility of the hearing induction loop.