CQC inspectors publish reports on 35 dental practices in England
How well dental practices do under the new CQC Inspection Regime:
As you are well aware Care Quality Commission (CQC) plans to inspect 10% of England's 10,000 dental practices. The inspections are designed to check id dental practices are meeting the fundamental standards and regulations that came into force in 1st April 2015.
CQC uses specially trained dental inspectors, usually accompanied by specialist advisors who are qualified dentists or dental care professionals. Similarly, to the other health and social care sectors inspected by CQC, dental reports describe whether services provided are:
safe
effective
caring
responsive and well-led.
Dr Janet Williamson, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice & Dentistry, said:
"We know that the quality of care provided by most dentists meets the fundamental standards required by law and, and that is reflected in the reports we have published so far.
"If we find that a dental practice is failing to meet the required standard - we will expect them to provide us with a full plan setting out how they will address the issue, and we will return to check that they have made the required improvements.
“However good the general picture, we are not complacent. In the first years of inspection, CQC did identify some examples of unacceptable standards of care. Our main priority must be to ensure that we protect the public from unsafe care by continuing to inspect against the regulations and taking action that encourages improvement.”
Legionella:
"There was no evidence to show that actions from the Legionella, health and safety, and fire safety risk assessments had been completed; the principal dentist told us they had completed some actions but had not documented this."
Infection Control/Legionella:
"Infection control procedures were in place and the practice followed published guidance. However, we found the practice needed to review the risks associated with handling sharp instruments and staff knowledge and understanding of the management of legionella"
Fire Management
"For example the fire risk assessment had identified another fire exit was required in 2015 and no action had been taken to ensure the door to this exit was a fire door with a push bar opening. The door in place was locked and bolted into the floor and ceiling which would not be suitable for a swift exit."
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